Moroccan Arabic Textbook

Peace Corps Morocco
With CD
1961 - 2011
WOdGL Wb U
Moroccan Arabic Textbook
Reproduced in 2011
MOROCCAN ARABIC
Peace Corps Morocco
Moroccan Arabic textbook
Reproduced in 2011
MOROCCAN ARABIC
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the following Peace Corps language instructors for their work on this book:
Acha Ait Cherif, Malika Boukbout, Mohamed Mahmoudi, and Abdellah Ouhmouch. They
revised lessons from Peace Corps 1994 Moroccan Arabic book, rewrote lessons completely,
and added entirely new material in order to arrive at this current edition. Their hard work
both in the classroom and on this bookis greatly appreciated.
Computer layout and design was done by former PCV Stephen Menicucci. Training Manager
Abderrahmane Boujenab oversaw the revision of the book, with input from Programming and
Training Officer Lisa Mirande-Lind. The book is based upon the 1994 Moroccan Arabic book
by Abdelghani Lamnaouar.
Thanks in advance to all trainees and volunteers who provide input for future improvements of
this text.
Abderrahmane Boujnab
Raining Manager
Table of Contents
Introduction
Learning Moroccan Arabic ........................................................................................................................ 1
Transcription of Moroccan Arabic ............................................................................................................ 1
Getting Started with Moroccan Arabic
Greetings .................................................................................................................................................... 5
Independent Pronouns .............................................................................................................................. 7
Possessive Pronouns ................................................................................................................................. 8
Masculine and Feminine Nouns ................................................................................................................9
Describing Yourself
Nationalities, Cities, and Marital Status ................................................................................................. 10
The Possessive Word dyal .................................................................................................................... 13
Demonstrative Adjectives & Demonstrative Pronouns .......................................................................... 14
Asking about Possession .......................................................................................................................... 17
Useful Expressions ................................................................................................................................. 19
Numerals
Cardinal Numbers ................................................................................................................................... 22
Ordinal Numbers / Fractions ................................................................................................................. 29
Time ......................................................................................................................................................... 30
Getting Started Shopping
Money .......................................................................................................................................................33
At the Hanoot .......................................................................................................................................... 34
Verb to want ......................................................................................................................................... 36
Kayn for There is ................................................................................................................................... 37
Family
Family Members ..................................................................................................................................... 38
Verb to have ......................................................................................................................................... 40
Directions
Prepositions ............................................................................................................................................ 42
Directions ................................................................................................................................................ 43
Past Events
Time Vocabulary ......................................................................................................................................45
Past Tense Regular Verbs .................................................................................................................... 46
Past Tense Irregular Verbs .................................................................................................................. 48
Negation ...................................................................................................................................................52
Have you ever... / Ive never... .................................................................................................................54
Object Pronouns ...................................................................................................................................... 55
Question Words .......................................................................................................................................56
Daily Routines
Present Tense Regular Verbs .............................................................................................................. 58
Present Tense Irregular Verbs with Middle a .................................................................................. 60
Present Tense Irregular Verbs with Final a ..................................................................................... 64
Using One Verb after Another ................................................................................................................ 68
The Imperative ........................................................................................................................................ 69
Bargaining
Bargaining ................................................................................................................................................ 71
Clothing .................................................................................................................................................... 73
Adjectives .................................................................................................................................................78
Comparative and Superlative Adjectives ................................................................................................ 81
Shopping For Food
Fruits and Vegetables ............................................................................................................................. 84
Buying Produce ....................................................................................................................................... 86
Spices and Meat ...................................................................................................................................... 88
Food and Drink

Food and Drink ....................................................................................................................................... 89
The Reflexive verb to please / to like ................................................................................................... 92
The Verb to need, to have to, must, should ......................................................................................... 95
The Verb to want, to like ...................................................................................................................... 96
Medical & Body
Body Parts................................................................................................................................................ 97
Health Problems ...................................................................................................................................... 98
Site Visit Expressions .......................................................................................................................... 100
Travel
Future Tense .......................................................................................................................................... 102
Travel ..................................................................................................................................................... 106
At the Hotel
Hotel Accommodation ........................................................................................................................... 110
The Conditional ...................................................................................................................................... 111
At the Post Office
The Post Office ....................................................................................................................................... 113
Using Prepositions with Pronoun Endings & Verbs ............................................................................. 115
Describing the Peace Corps Mission
Peace Corps ........................................................................................................................................... 120
Youth Development ................................................................................................................................ 121
Environment.......................................................................................................................................... 122
Health .....................................................................................................................................................123
Small Business Development ................................................................................................................ 124
Renting a House
Finding a House .....................................................................................................................................125
Furnishing a House ................................................................................................................................ 127
Safety and Security
Sexual Harassment................................................................................................................................ 129
At the Taxi Stand .................................................................................................................................... 131
At Work ...................................................................................................................................................132
Forgetting a Wallet in a Taxi / Filing a Report .....................................................................................133
Butagas ................................................................................................................................................... 135
Hash ....................................................................................................................................................... 136
Theft ........................................................................................................................................................ 137
House Security / Doors and Windows ................................................................................................. 139
Political Harassment .............................................................................................................................. 141
Appendices
Pronunciation of Moroccan Arabic
Understanding How Sounds Are Made ................................................................................................ 144
Pronunciation of Non-English Consonants ......................................................................................... 144
Pronunciation of Shedda....................................................................................................................... 146
The Definite Article ................................................................................................................................ 147
Supplementary Grammar Lessons
Making Intransitive Verbs into Transitive Verbs ................................................................................. 148
Passive Verbs ......................................................................................................................................... 149
The Past Progressive ............................................................................................................................. 150
The Verb to remain ............................................................................................................................. 151
Verb Participles ...................................................................................................................................... 151
Conjunctions...........................................................................................................................................154
More Useful Expressions .................................................................................................................... 157
Moroccan Holidays
Religious Holidays..................................................................................................................................159
National Holidays .................................................................................................................................. 162
Glossary of Verbs ................................................................................................................................. 163
Grammar Index .................................................................................................................................... 193
Vocabulary Index ................................................................................................................................. 194
Introduction
Learning Moroccan Arabic
Even under the best conditions, learning a new language can be challenging. Add to this challenge the
rigors of Peace Corps training, and youre faced with what will be one of the most demandingand
rewardingaspects of your Peace Corps experience: learning to communicate to Moroccans in their
own language. But it can be done. And rest assured that you can do it. Here are a few reasons why:
You are immersed in the language: Some people may need to hear a word three times to
remember it; others may need thirty. Learning Moroccan Arabic while living and training with
Moroccans gives you the chance to hear the language used again and again.
You have daily language classes with Moroccan teachers: Youre not only immersed in
the language; you also have the opportunity to receive feedback from native speakers on the
many questions that predictably crop up when one learns a new language.
Peace Corps has over forty years of experience in Morocco: Your training, including
this manual, benefits from the collective experience gained by training thousands of Americans
to live and work in Morocco. You will benefit from and contribute to that legacy.
Despite these advantages, at times you may still feel like the task of learning Moroccan Arabic is too
much to handle. Remember that volunteers like you having been doing it for decades, however. One of
the most rewarding aspects of your time will be communicating with Moroccans in Arabic, surprising
them and yourself with how well you know the language. When that time arrives, your hard work will
have been worth it.
Transcription of Moroccan Arabic

In order for trainees to move quickly into Moroccan Arabic (also called Darija), Peace Corps uses a
system of transcription that substitutes characters of the Latin alphabet (a, b, c, d, . . . ) for characters
from Arabic script (
). With this system, it isnt necessary for a trainee to learn all of
Arabic script before he or she begins to learn the language. On the contrary, once you become familiar
with the system of transcription, you will be able to read and write Moroccan Arabic fairly quickly
using characters you are familiar with. You will also learn Arabic script during training, but with
transcription it isnt necessary to know it right away. Throughout the book, therefore, you will always
see both the original Arabic script and the transcription. Becoming familiar with the Peace
Corps system of transcription is one of the best things you can do, early on, to help
yourself learn Moroccan Arabic. Practicing the different sounds of Moroccan Arabic
until you can reproduce them is another. This introduction is intended mainly to help you get
started with the system of transcription, and as a result it will mention only briefly the different sounds
of Arabic. However, a fuller explanation can be found on page 144.
Sounds You Already Know

The large majority of consonants in Moroccan Arabic are similar to sounds that we have in English.
The vowels in Arabic are also similar to English vowels. In the following table, each transcription
character that represents a sound you already know will be explained. The sounds are not
necessarily what you may expect, but each character was matched with a sound for good reasons.
Transcription
Character
Arabic
Character
Description
sometimes the // in father, sometimes the /a/ in mad
the normal English sound /b/
the normal English sound /d/
the short e sound /e/ as in met (this transcription character is not used
often, only when confusion would be caused by using the transcription character a)
2 Moroccan Arabic
the normal English sound /f/
the normal English sound /g/ as in go
the normal English sound /h/ as in hi.
the long ee sound // as in meet
the /zh/ sound represented by the s in pleasure
the normal English sound /k/
the normal English sound /l/
the normal English sound /m/
the normal English sound /n/
the long o sound // as in bone (this transcription character is not used
the normal English sound /p/
this is not the normal English r, but a flap similar to the Spanish
r or to the sound Americans make when they quickly say gotta
as in I gotta go.
the normal English sound /s/
the normal English sound /t/
the long oo sound // as in food
the normal English sound /v/
the normal English sound /w/
the normal English sound /y/
the normal English sound /z/
the normal English sound /sh/ as in she
often, mainly for French words that have entered Moroccan Arabic)
Some vowel combinations

ay
the ay as in say
au
the ow as in cow
iu
the ee you as in see you later
Peace Corps / Morocco 3
New Sounds
There are eight consonants in Moroccan Arabic that we do not have in English. It may take you some
time to be able to pronounce these correctly. At this point, whats important is that you learn the
transcription character for each of these sounds. See page 144 for more information on how to
pronounce the sounds in Moroccan Arabic.
Transcription
Character
Arabic
Character
Sound
the Arabic emphatic d
the Arabic emphatic s
the Arabic emphatic t
like the English /k/ but pronounced further back in the throat
like the ch in the German Bach; some people use this sound to
say yech!
like the x sound above, but pronounced using your voice box;
similar to the French r
like the English h, except pronounce deep in the throat as a loud

raspy whisper.
This sound will be difficult at first. It can be approximated by

pronouncing the a in fat with the tongue against the bottom of the
mouth and from as deep in the throat as possible
These sounds are pronounced like their

non-emphatic counterparts, but with a
lower pitch and a greater tension in the
tongue and throat.
Shedda
If you see a transcription character doubled, that means that a shedda is over that character in
the Arabic script. For example, in the following table, you will see how the transcription changes for
shedda, and thus the pronunciation.
English
Translation
Transcription
woman
mra
time (as in: Ive seen
mrra
him one time)
Arabic
Script
This small character,

which looks like a w,
is the shedda. That is
why the transcription
has a doubled r.
Notice that these two words are spelled differently in the transcription. The word woman does not
have a shedda on the r in Arabic script, and that is why there is only one r in the transcription. The
word time does have a shedda in the Arabic script, and that is why the transcription doubles the
letter r. These two words are pronounced differently, so you must pay attention to
doubled letters in transcription. To learn more about how we pronounce the shedda in Arabic,
see page 146. For now, whats important is that you understand the transcription.
4 Moroccan Arabic
Other Symbols
Sometimes, you will see a hyphen used in the transcription. This has three purposes:
1. It indicates the definite article: For some letters, the definite article (the word the) is
made by adding the letter l. For others, it is made by doubling the first letter. In both cases, a
hyphen will be used to indicate to you that the word has the definite article in front of it. See
page 147 for more info on the definite article.
2. It connects the present tense prefix: The present tense prefix (kan, kat, or kay) will
be connected to the verb with a hyphen. This will make it easier for you to understand what
verb you are looking at.
3. It connects the negative prefix (ma) and the negative suffix () to a verb.
In these instances, the hyphen does not necessarily indicate a change in pronunciation. The
hyphen is there to make it easy for you to see when a definite article is being used, for example, or
which verb is being used. It is a visual indicator, not an indicator of pronunciation. Sometimes the
rhythm of speech may seem to break with the hyphen; other times the letters before and after the
hyphen will be pronounced together.
Another symbol you will sometimes see is the apostrophe ( ' ). When you see an apostrophe, it
indicates a glottal stop, which is the break between vowels as heard in the English exclamation uh
oh. That is to say, if you see an apostrophe you should not connect the sounds before the apostrophe
with the sounds after the apostrophe. Pronounce them with a break in the middle.
Words & Syllables Without Vowels

Sometimes you will see syllables or even whole words without any vowels written in them. This is
normal in Moroccan Arabic. To the English speaker, however, this seems impossible, since we have
always been taught that all words must contain a vowel sound. Which side is correct? Well, in a sense
they both are. In reality, it is indeed possible to pronounce consonants together without articulating a
vowel sound; we do it a lot in English at the beginning of words. Think about the word street. We
pronounce three consonantss, t, and rwithout any vowels between them. So it is possible. The only
challenge with Arabic is that the consonant combinations are new for English speakers (we dont put
the /sh/ sound next to the /m/ sound, for example, but in Arabic they do).
However, try for a moment to pronounce only the letters str, not the whole word street. In this
case, most English speakers will hear something that sounds like the word stir. With certain
consonant combinations, that is to say, it sounds to the English speaker like there is a vowel in the
middle, even if there isnt. The vowel is in reality just the normal sound made as one consonant
sound transitions to another.
Part of learning Moroccan Arabic is becoming comfortable with new consonant combinations and
practicing those combinations without necessarily placing a vowel in the middle. The transcription
words, you will notice, only include characters for vowels when there really is a vowel in the word. It
may seem difficult at first, but it is better to accustom yourself to this as early as you can.
Why Not Just Write sh?

A final point about the transcription. At times it may seem overly complicated to someone beginning
Moroccan Arabic. For example, why doesnt it just use sh for the /sh/ sound? The answer is this:
every sound must have just a single character to represent it. Why? Well, in Arabic it is normal for the
/h/ sound to follow the /s/ sound. If we used sh to represent the /sh/ sound, there would not be any
way to represent an /s/ plus /h/ sound, because it too would look like sh. Using the symbol to
represent /sh/ makes it possible to represent /s/ plus /h/ and /sh/ plus /h/ (yes, in Arabic both these
combinations are used).
All of this concerns a larger point: the transcription system used in this book may appear
complex at first, but it has been carefully thought out and in the end it is the easiest system
possible. That said, the sooner you can make the transition to reading Arabic script, the easier it will be
to pronounce Arabic correctly.
Getting Started with Moroccan Arabic

Objective: By the end of the chapter, you will be able to:
greet people and introduce yourself
use independent pronouns to make simple sentences
use possessive pronouns to indicate possession
distinguish between masculine and feminine nouns
Greetings
Cultural Points
Greetings and farewells (good byes) are two important aspects of Moroccan life. Greetings are
not to be compared with the quick American hi. It takes time for two people to exchange different
questions and answers which interest them about each other, their families, and life in general.
Greetings change from one region to another, both in the questions posed and in the fashion of the
greeting (i.e. shaking hands, kissing cheeks head or hands, or putting ones hand over ones heart after
shaking hands).
If you greet a group of people, then the way you greet the first person is the way you should greet
everyone in the group. Dont be surprised if you are greeted by a friend but he does not introduce you
to other people with whom he may be talking. Do not be surprised if you are in a group and you are not
greeted as others are in the group (people may be shy to greet a stranger.) It is also not necessary to
give an overly detailed response to a greetingonly the usual response is expected. For example, How
are you? requires only a simple Fine, thanks be to God.
How do people greet each

other in different cultures?
Greeting expressions and appropriate responses

A: Peace be upon you
B: And peace be upon you (too)
s-salamu alaykum
wa alaykum s-salam
A: Good morning
B: Good morning
sba l-xir
sba l-xir
A: Good afternoon / evening

B: Good afternoon / evening
msa l-xir
msa l-xir
name
smiya
6 Moroccan Arabic
Whats your name?
nu smitk?
my name...
smiti...
your name...
smitk...
his name...
smitu...
her name...
smitha...
Nice to meet you.
mtrfin
How are you (masc.)?
kif dayr?
How are you (fem.)?
kif dayra?
Are you fine?
labas?
Good, thanks be to God.
labas, l-amdullah
Good, thanks be to God.
bixir, l-amdullah
Everything is fine.
kuli bixir
Good-bye
bslama
Good night
layla saida
Greetings Dialogue
John: s-salamu alaykum.
Mohamed: wa alaykum s-salam.
John: kif dayr?
Mohamed: labas, l-amdullah. u nta?
John: bixir, l-amdullah.
Mohamed: nu smitk?
John: smiti John. u nta?
Mohamed: smiti Mohamed.
John: mtrfin.
Mohamed: mtrfin.
Transcription Reminder see page 1 for the full table with all transcription characters.
: the /sh/ sound as in she
a: the a in father or the a in mad
x: the ch in the German Bach or the
Scottish loch See page144.
i: the ee in meet
u: the oo in food
Exercise: Put this dialogue in the correct order.

Chris: sba l-xir.
Amy: mtrfin.
Chris: kif dayra?
Amy: nu smitk?
Chris: labas, l-amdullah.
Amy: smiti Amy.
Chris: smiti Chris. u nti?
Amy: sba l-xir.
Chris: mtrfin.
Amy: bixir, l-amdullah. u nta?
Independent Pronouns
We call the following pronouns independent because they are not attached to other words, such as
nouns, verbs, or prepositions (see Possessive Pronouns, next page, and Object Pronouns, page 55).
The pronouns are often used in a number of different ways.
I
ana
you (masc. singular)
nta
you (fem. singular)
nti
he
huwa
she
hiya
we
na
you (plural)
ntuma
they
huma
When they are followed by a noun or an adjective, the verb to be is not necessary. It is implied
already, and simple sentences can be made by using independent pronouns with a nouns or adjectives.
I am a teacher.
ana ustad.
She is tired.
hiya iyana.
h: the normal English /h/ sound as in
: like the English h, except pronounce it
hello.
deep in the throat as a loud raspy

whisper. See page 145.
8 Moroccan Arabic
Possessive Pronouns
In Darija, a suffix (ending) may be added to the end of words in order to express possession.
my
i / ya*
your (singular)
his
u / h*
her
ha
our
na
your (plural)
kum
their
hum
* For the my and his forms, the first ending is used for words ending in consonants, while the
second is used with words ending in vowels. For example, smiti (my name), but xuya (my brother).
Example of possessive pronouns with the noun book.
book
ktab
my book
ktabi
your (sing.) book
ktabk
his book
ktabu
her book
ktabha
our book
ktabna
your (plur.) book
ktabkum
their book
ktabhum
Most feminine nouns in Arabic have an a sound at the end of the word. In Arabic script, this a is
actually a silent t that is only pronounced on certain occasions. For all feminine words ending in
this silent t ( ), we drop the sound a and substitute it with t before adding a possessive pronoun.
For example, the feminine noun magana (a watch).
watch
magana
my watch
maganti
your (sing.) watch
magantk
his watch
magantu
her watch
magantha
our watch
magantna
your (plur.) watch
magantkum
their watch
maganthum
Exercise: Use the following words with the appropriate possessive pronoun.
dar (house)
blasa (place)
ktab (book)
1. your (plur.) house

2. my place
3. his book
4. our place
5. your (sing.) ticket
wrqa (sheet of paper, ticket)
6. their place
7. her house
8. his ticket
9. your (sing.) book
10. their house
Masculine and Feminine Nouns

In Arabic, all nouns are either masculine or feminine. In general, nouns ending in a (the silent t ( )
in Arabic script) are feminine. For example:
smiya
name
city
mdina
chicken (a single one)
djaja
television
tlfaza
The feminine is formed from the masculine (for nouns indicating professions or participles) by adding
a (the silent t ( ) in Arabic script) to the end of the word. For example:
male teacher
ustad
female teacher
ustada
working (masc. participle)
xddam
working (fem. participle)
xddama
Some words without a (the silent t ( ) in Arabic script) are nonetheless feminine. First, words and
proper names which are by their nature feminine:
mother
om
Amal (girls name)
amal
Second, most (though not all) parts of the body that come in pairs are feminine:
an eye
in
a hand
yd
a foot
rjl
an ear
udn
Third, a small number of nouns which do not fall into any category and yet are feminine:
the house
d-dar
the sun
-ms
j: the /zh/ sound, like the s in the
Remember that if two characters in a row are
word pleasure.
: See page 146.
the same, a shedda is used, and we pronounce

that sound longer. See pages 3 and 146.
10 Moroccan Arabic
Describing Yourself
ask and answer questions about nationalities, cities, age, and marital status
use the possessive word dyal to indicate possession
use demonstrative pronouns and adjectives in simple sentences
ask questions about possession
Cultural Points
Avoid asking about the salary and age (sometimes) of people, especially women. Men should not
enquire about the wives or other female relations of someonethis could be seen as expressing an
inappropriate interest. People wont always tell you about their jobs and other personal concerns if not
asked. Religion can be a sensitive issue and sometimes people are not willing to express their views.
Nationalities, Cities, and Marital Status

Vocabulary and Expressions
Where are you (masc.) from?
mnin nta?
Where are you (fem.) from?
mnin nti?
I am from the U.S.
ana mn mirikan.
I am American.
ana mirikani(ya).
I am from Morocco.
ana mn l-mrib.
I am Moroccan.
ana mribi(ya).
Are you ... ?
we nta/nti ... ?
Are you from the U.S.?
we nta/nti mn mirikan?
Where are you from in the U.S.?
mnin nta/nti f mirikan?
And you?
u nta/nti?
city
mdina
state
wilaya
big (fem.)
kbira
small (fem.)
sira
Excuse me. (to man / woman)
sm li / smi li
I am not ...
ana mai ...
but
welakin
engaged (fem.)
mxtuba
married (masc. / fem.)
mzuwj / mzuwja
No, not yet.
lla mazal / lla baqi
Are you a tourist?
we nta/nti turist?
I work with the Peace Corps.
ana xddam(a) ma hay'at

s-salam.
Dialogue
Fatima: s-salamu alaykum.
Tom: wa alaykum s-salam.
Fatima: sm li, we nta fransawi?
Tom: lla, ana mirikani.
Fatima: mnin f mirikan?
Tom: mn mdint Seattle f wilayat
Washington. u nti?
Fatima: mn Rabat.
Tom: al f mrk?
Fatima: tnayn u rin am.
u nta?
Tom: rba u tlatin am.

Fatima: we nta mzuwj wlla mazal?
Tom: mazal.
u nti?
Fatima: lla, baqiya. we nta turist?

Tom: lla, ana xddam ma
hay'at s-salam.
Fatima: bslama.
Tom: n-ufk mn bd.
12 Moroccan Arabic
Exercise: Complete each section of this dialogue.
The Possessive Word dyal

In Moroccan Arabic, you have already learned that possession can be expressed by adding the
possessive pronouns to the end of a word (see page 8). Another way to express possession is through
the word dyal. It is placed after a noun with the definite article the, which in Arabic may be either
the letter l or a doubling of the first consonant of a word (see page 147 for more information on the
Arabic definite article). The same possessive pronouns you learned before are attached to the end of
dyal. You can also use a name with dyal. Some examples:
Using dyal
Using Possessive Pronoun

book
ktab
the book
l-ktab
my book
ktabi
my book
l-ktab dyali
Johns book
l-ktab dyal John
Here is a list of dyal with all of the possessive pronoun endings:

my / mine
dyali
your / yours (sing.)
dyalk
his / his
dyalu
her / hers
dyalha
our / ours
dyalna
your / yours
dyalkum
their / theirs
dyalhum
As the list above shows, the forms dyali, dyalk, etc. also mean mine, yours, etc.
This pen is mine.
had s-stilo dyali.
That rug is yours.
dik z-zrbiya dyalk.
Exercise: Substitute the underlined words by the corresponding possessive pronoun

endings.
1. s-stilu dyal John.
2. l-ktab dyal Amber.
3. d-dar dyal Driss u Zubida.
14 Moroccan Arabic
Demonstrative Adjectives & Demonstrative Pronouns

This, that, these, and those are used often in Arabic, like in English. But, unlike in English, in
Arabic we must be aware of whether they act as adjectives or pronouns. Think about how we use these
words in English. Sometimes, we use them before a noun. When we use them before a noun, they are
called demonstrative adjectives.
This car is Johns.
I like these towels.
I want that book.
Those flowers smell lovely.
Sometimes, we use them by themselves. In this case, they are called demonstrative pronouns.
This is Johns.
I like these.
I want that.
Those smell lovely.
It isnt necessary to know their names, but it is necessary to pay attention to whether they are before a
noun or not. Lets first look at the pronoun forms in Arabic, which you will use often even as a
beginner.
Demonstrative Pronouns
this (masc.)
hada
this (fem.)
hadi
these (plur.)
hadu
that (masc.)
hadak
that (fem.)
hadik
those (plur.)
haduk
These forms may be used at the beginning of a sentence, in the middle or at the end of a sentence, or in
questions. In Arabic, these pronouns can represent people.
This is a chair.
hada kursi.
This is a table.
hadi tbla.
This is Abdallah.
hada Abdallah.
This is Aicha.
hadi Aicha.
Whats this? (masc. object)
nu / a hada?
Whats this? (fem. object)
nu / a hadi?
Who is this? (masc.)
kun hada?
Who is this? (fem.)
kun hadi?
What is that? (masc. object)
nu / a hadak?
Who is that? (fem.)
kun hadik?
At first, you may have difficulty knowing whether to use the masculine or feminine form of this or
that. Moroccans should understand you even if you make an error with gender, however.
Exercise: Write as many correct sentences as you can using the words from the
following table.
e.g. hada rajl mzyan.
(This is a good man.)
hada
wld (masc. sing.)
mzyan (masc. sing.)
hadi
bnt (fem. sing.)
mzyanin (masc. plur.)
hadu
qhwa (fem. sing.)
mzyana (fem. sing.)
hadak
wlad (masc. plur.)
mzyanat (fem. plur.)
hadik
rajl (masc. sing.)
kbir (masc. sing.)
haduk
dar (fem. sing.)
kbira (fem. sing.)
yalat (fem. plur.)
kbar (masc./fem. plur.)
mdina (fem. sing.)
fran (masc. sing.)
bnat (fem. plur.)
franin (masc. plur.)
blad (masc. sing.)
frana (fem. sing.)

franat (fem. plur.)
: the /sh/ sound as in she
a: the a in father or the a in mad
x: the ch in the German Bach or the
Scottish loch See page144.
: the French r, like a light gargle
See page 145.
t:
d:
s:
pronounced like t, d, and s, but

with a lower pitch and a greater
tension in the tongue and throat.
See page 145.
i: the ee in meet
u: the oo in food
k: the normal /k/ sound
q: like the English /k/ but pronounced
further back in the throat. See page 144.
16 Moroccan Arabic
Demonstrative Adjectives
this/these (masc. / fem. / plur.)
had
that (masc.)
dak
that (fem.)
dik
those (plur.)
duk
As you can see, the this/these form (had) is the same for masculine, feminine, and plural. For all the
demonstrative adjectives, you must use the definite article in front of the nouns that follow them. This
means using an l in front of moon letters or doubling the first letter of sun letters (see page 147).
this man
had r-rajl
this woman
had l-mra
these men
had r-rjal
these women
had l-yalat
This city is big.
had l-mdina kbira.
That house is big.
dik d-dar kbira.
Talking about a General Situation
INTERMEDIATE
TOPIC
Sometimes in English, we use the words this and that to talk about general situations, not about
specific things.
Some of the students are always late for class. I dont like that.
In Arabic, different expressions are used for these meanings.
this (general situation)
had -i
that (general situation)
dak -i
After some experience hearing native speakers, you should be able to know when to use the normal
demonstrative pronouns and when to use these expressions. Some examples:
What is this? (this thing, this
object)
a hada?
What is this? (situation, affair)
a had -i?
I want that. (that thing, that

object)
bit hadak.
Thats what I want. (a situation

or outcome)
dak -i l-li bit.
Using a Demonstrative Pronoun to Express Duration
INTERMEDIATE
TOPIC
With a present tense verb form, an active participle expressing current activity, or an equational
sentence, the demonstrative pronoun hadi is used to express duration, like the English present perfect
tense or present perfect progressive tense. It is used with a time expression and u (and) followed by the
rest of the sentence:
hadi + time expression + u + rest of sentence
Ive been waiting for you for two
hours. (Literally: This is two
hours and I am waiting for you.)
hadi satayn u ana

kan-tsnak.
Hes been asleep for a long

time. (Literally: This is a long
time and he is sleeping.)
hadi muda u huwa nas.
Hes been in Morocco for three

years. (Literally: This is three
years and he is in Morocco.)
hadi tlt snin u huwa

f l-marib.
Asking about Possession

The possessive word dyal (
) may be used with mn ( ) to mean whose.
Whose book is this?
dyal mn had l-ktab?
This is Ambers book.
had l-ktab dyal Amber.
Is this Hichams book?
we had l-ktab dyal

Hicham?
No, its not his.
lla,
Whose house is this?
dyal mn had d-dar?
This house is Malikas.
had d-dar dyal Malika.
Is this house Malikas?
we had d-dar dyal

Malika?
Yes, its hers.
iyeh, dyalha.
mai dyalu.
we had
d-dar dyal
Malika?
iyeh,
dyalha.
18 Moroccan Arabic
Exercise: Ask a question about possession for each picture. Then, give the correct
answer. The first one is done for you.
Hassan
Q: dyal mn had l-bisklit?
A: had l-bisklit dyal Hassan.
?
Q: _______________________?
A: ___________________Said.
Said
?
Ahmed
Q: _______________________?
A: __________________Ahmed.
?
Aziz
Q: _______________________?
A: ___________________Aziz.
Useful Expressions
Here are some expressions to help you with homestay, travel, and other situations where your language
may not yet be at a point where you are able to communicate well in Moroccan Arabic. If you follow the
pronunciation of the transcriptions, Moroccans should understand you. More expressions can be
found in the appendix. See page 157.
Mealtime Expressions
In the name of God (said when you
begin an activity: eating, drinking,
working, studying, traveling, etc.).
Thanks to God (said after finishing a

meal, or after expressing that all is well
in life).
bismillah
l-amdullah
ma-kan-akul-...l-lm
l-bid
l-ut
d-djaj
kan-rb atay / l-qhwa
I drink tea / coffee without sugar. bla skkar.
I dont eat ... meat
eggs
fish
chicken
I eat everything.
kan-akul kuli.
I eat vegetables only.
kan-akul ir l-xodra.
I dont feel like eating.
ma-fiya ma-y-akul.
I want just/only ...
bit ir ...
I dont want to have breakfast.
ma-bit- n-ftr.
The food is delicious.
l-makla bnina.
Im full.
bt.
I want to learn how to cook.
bit n-tllm n-tiyb.
May God replenish / reward you. lla y-xlf.

(said after a meal to thank host)
To your health (said to someone

after eating, drinking, coming out of the
hammam, wearing new clothes, having
a hair cut, etc.)
bssa.
May God grant you health too.
lla y-tik ssa
(response to the above)
Thanking Expressions
Thank you.
ukran.
Youre welcome.
bla jmil.
20 Moroccan Arabic
Expressions for Nighttime / Sleeping

Im tired. (male speaker)
ana iyan.
Im tired. (female speaker)
ana iyana.
I want to read a little bit.
bit n-qra wiya.
I want to go to bed.
bit n-ns.?
Where I am going to sleep?
fin adi n-ns.?
Excuse me, I want to go to bed.

(addressing a group of people)
smu li, bit n-mi

n-ns.
I want to go to bed early.
bit n-ns bkri.
I want to get up early.
bit n-fiq bkri.
I want a blanket.
bit wad l-manta.
Hygiene/Cleanliness Expressions
I want to wash my hands with
soap.
bit n-sl yddi b

s-sabun.
I want to brush my teeth.
bit n-sl snani.
I want hot water, please.
bit l-ma s-sxun afak.
I want to take a shower.
bit n-duw.
I want to go to the hammam.
bit n-mi l-mmam.
I want to change my clothes.
bit n-bddl wayji.
Where is the toilet?
fin bit l-ma?
I want to do laundry.
bit n-sbbn wayji.
Where can I do laundry?
fin ymkn n-sbbn wayji.?
Offering Help / Asking for Favors

Can I help you?
we n-awnk?
Excuse me. (to a man)
sm li.
Excuse me. (to a woman)
smi li.
Give me ... please.
tini ... afak.
Being Sick
Im sick. (male speaker)
ana mrid.
Im sick. (female speaker)
ana mrida.
I want to rest a bit.
bit n-rta swiya.
Do you feel better?
briti wiya?
Transportation Expressions
I want to go to ...
bit n-mi l ...
Take me to ... please.
ddini l ... afak.
Stop here, please.
wqf hna afak.
Is the meter on?
we l-kuntur xddam?
Turn on the meter, please.
xddm l-kuntur afak.
Responses to Problems/Difficulties/Apologies
Its not a problem.
mai mukil.
There is no problem.
ma-kayn mukil.
Congratulations
Congratulations.
mbruk
Happy holiday.
mbruk l-id.
May God grant you grace.
lla y-bark fik.
Communication
I dont understand.
ma-fhmt-.
I dont know.
ma-n-rf.
Slowly please.
b wiya afak.
Repeat please. (to a man)
awd afak.
Repeat please. (to a woman)
awdi afak.
What did you say?
nu glti?
22 Moroccan Arabic
Numerals
Objective: By the end of the chapter, you will be able to :
count in Moroccan Arabic
combine numbers with nouns to indicate amounts
ask and answer questions about time
When we talk about numerals, we want to be able to do two things. First, we have to be able to count.
That is, we have to learn our numbers. Second, we have to be able to use the numbers with objects. In
other words, we have to be able to say things like five apples or twenty-seven students or one
hundred forty-three volunteers.
In English, we never think of these two tasks separately. We simply use a number in combination with
the plural form of some object. In Arabic, however, we have to learn how to combine different numbers
with objects, sometimes using a plural form, sometimes a singular, sometimes with a letter in between
the two, sometimes not. As in all things Arabic, what seems difficult now becomes natural with time.
Cardinal Numbers
Cardinal numbers refer to the normal numbers we use (one, two, three...). They are different than
ordinal numbers (first, second, third...) and fractions (one-half, one-third, one-fourth...). For now, we
start with the cardinal numbers. We will work with ordinal numbers and fractions later.
Numbers 1 thru 10
In Moroccan Arabic, there are two ways to combine the numbers 3 thru 10 with an object. We sometimes use the full or normal form of the number, and sometimes we use a short form of the number.
Here is a table listing the full form of numbers 1 thru 10 and the short form of numbers 3 thru 10.
Full Forms
Short Forms
one (masc.)
wad
one (fem.)
wda
two
juj
three
tlata
tlt
four
rba
rb
five
xmsa
xms
six
stta
stt
seven
sba
sb
eight
tmnya
tmn
nine
tsud
ts
ten
ra

For the numbers 3 thru 10, we combine the full form of a number and a noun like this:
number (full form) + d ( )+ plural noun with definite article
For the numbers 3 thru 10, we combine the short form of a number and a noun like this:
number (short form) + plural noun (no definite article)
Eight books (using full form)
tmnya d l-ktub
Five dirhams (using full form)
xmsa d d-drahm
Five dirhams (using short form)
xms drahm
The numbers one and two have some special qualities.

The number one (wad/wda) differs from all other numbers because in Arabic, it acts like an
adjective. This means that it comes after a noun, like other adjectives, and that it must agree in gender
with the noun, like other adjectives.
one book (book is masc.)
ktab wad
one girl (girl is fem.)
bnt wda
Sometimes, you may hear wad (not wda) used before a noun. In this case, it is not acting
as a number, but rather as an indefinite article (like the English a or an). Dont worry
about it now, just be aware of it.
INTERMEDIATE
TOPIC
a book
wad l-ktab
a girl
wad l-bnt
The number two (juj) can be used as a full or short form with plural nouns.
two books
juj d l-ktub
two books
juj ktub
However, when two is part of a compound number (as in twenty-two), a different form is used. Here,
we use the form tnayn ( ). This will be shown in the section on numbers from 20 thru 99.
Dual noun forms
In English, nouns have a singular and a plural form. In Arabic, nouns also have a singular and plural
form, but a small number of nouns also have a dual form. The dual form is used for these nouns
when we refer to two of something. For nouns that have a dual form, therefore, we dont use juj. The
dual form includes the idea of two. The dual form is usually made by adding ayn to the end of the
singular form. In the following tables, the first three examples have dual forms, but the last two are
normal and therefore use their plural form.
24 Moroccan Arabic
Singular Form
Dual Form
day
yum
yumayn
month
hr
hrayn
year
am
amayn
But...
Singular Form
Plural Form
week
simana
juj d s-simanat
minute
dqiqa
juj dqayq
Numbers 11 thru 19
The numbers 11 thru 19 do not have a short form. Only numbers 3 thru 10 have a short form.
eleven
da
twelve
tna
thirteen
tlta
fourteen
rbta
fifteen
xmsta
sixteen
stta
seventeen
sbta
eighteen
tmnta
nineteen
tsta
For numbers 11 thru 19, we can combine a number and a noun like this:
number +
r ()
or
l ()
+ singular noun (no definite article)
sixteen years
stta r am
sixteen years
stta l am
eighteen girls
tmnta r bnt
eighteen girls
tmnta l bnt
Yes the singular!

In Arabic, the plural
form is only used for
numbers 2 thru 10.
The singular is used
for everything else!
Numbers 20, 30, 40 ... 99

For a multiple of ten (20, 30, 40 etc.) in Arabic, we simply use the name for that number, like in
English. For numbers such as 21, 22, or 23, however, it is not like English. In Arabic, the ones digit is
pronounced first, followed by the word and, then followed by the tens digit. For example, in Arabic
the number 21 is literally one and twenty while the number 47 is literally seven and forty. Also,
remember that for the numbers 22, 32, 42, 52, 62, 72, 82, and 92, we do not use juj. Rather, we use
tnayn. Here is a list of the multiples of ten, with examples of numbers between each multiple:
rin
twenty
twenty-one
literally: one and twenty
wad u rin
twenty-two
literally: two and twenty
tnayn u rin
Remember: tnayn, not juj
twenty-three
literally: three and twenty
tlata u rin
twenty-four
rba u rin
thirty
tlatin
thirty-one
wad u tlatin
thirty-two
tnayn u tlatin
thirty-three
tlata u tlatin
forty
rbin
forty-one
wad u rbin
forty-two
tnayn u rbin
fifty
xmsin
sixty
sttin
seventy
sbin
eighty
tmanin
ninety
tsin
ninety-nine
tsud u tsin
For numbers 20 thru 99, we can combine a number and a noun like this:
number + singular noun (no definite article)
forty-two years
tnayn u rbin am
ninety dirhams
tsin drhm
thirty-eight books
tmnya u tlatin ktab
26 Moroccan Arabic
Numbers 100, 200, 300 ... 999

The Arabic word for 100 is miya. For 200, there is a dual form of miyatayn. For 300 thru 900, we
use the short form of the numbers 3 thru 9 plus miya. For numbers such as 107 or 257, we will use the
appropriate multiple of 100 followed by the word and and then the rest of the number. Some
examples:
miya
one hundred
one hundred one
miya u wad
literally: one hundred and one
one hundred two
miya u juj
literally: one hundred and two
one hundred ten
miya u ra
literally: one hundred and ten
miya u da
one hundred eleven

one hundred twenty-one
miya u wad u rin
literally: one hundred and one and

twenty
one hundred twenty-two

literally: one hundred and two and
twenty
miya u tnayn u rin
one hundred ninety-nine
miya u tsud u tsin

miyatayn
two hundred
two hundred fifty-seven
miyatayn u sba u
xmsin
literally: two hundred and seven

and fifty
tlt miya
three hundred
three hundred forty-five
literally: three hundred and five and
forty
tlt miya u xmsa u

rbin
four hundred
rb miya
five hundred
xms miya
six hundred
stt miya
seven hundred
sb miya
eight hundred
tmn miya
nine hundred
ts miya
nine hundred ninety-nine
ts miya u tsud u
tsin
Exact multiples of 100 (100, 300, 400, etc. not 137 or 278) are combined with a noun like this:
number + t ( ) + singular noun
four hundred chairs
rb miyat kursi
six hundred ryal
stt miyat ryal
But when a number between 100 and 999 is not an exact multiple of 100 (e.g. 167, 492, 504), we
combine the number with a noun according to the rule for the final digits of the number.
105 books (use the rule for 5)
miya u xmsa d l-ktub
miyatayn u rbta r ktab

stt miya u sba u xmsin
ktab
Exercise: Match the number with the correct Arabic translation.

199
miya u tsud u rbin
tsud u sttin
11
miya u stta u xmsin
149
xmsa u sbin
137
miya u tsud u tsin
75
da
69
miya u sba u tlatin
156
juj
Numbers 1000, 2000, 3000 ...

The word for thousand has the singular form alf, the dual form alfayn, and the plural form alaf.
The plural form is used with the short form of the numbers 3 thru 10 from 3 thousand to 10
thousand. Then we return to the singular form (like we do for all Arabic nouns). Like the word for
hundred, it is followed by and when the number is not an exact multiple of 1000 (e.g. 1027 or
4738). From 1000 onward:
one thousand
alf
one thousand one
alf u wad
one thousand fifteen
alf u xmsta
one thousand three hundred

sixty-seven (literally: one
thousand and three hundred and
seven and sixty)
two thousand
two thousand twenty-two
three thousand
alf u tlt miya u sba

u sttin
alfayn
alfayn u tnayn u
rin
tlt alaf
28 Moroccan Arabic
three thousand seven

hundred and fifty
tlt alaf u sb miya u

xmsin
four thousand
rb alaf
five thousand
xms alaf
six thousand
stt alaf
seven thousand
sb alaf
eight thousand
tmn alaf
nine thousand
ts alaf
nine thousand nine hundred

ninety-nine
ts alaf u ts miya u
tsud u tsin
ten thousand
r alaf
eleven thousand
da r alf
two hundred thousand
miyatayn alf
999,999
ts miya u tsud u
tsin alf u ts miya
u tsud u tsin
Exact multiples of 1000 can be combined with nouns in two ways:

number + singular noun
Or...
number + d ( ) + plural noun with definite article
five thousand boys
xms alaf wld
five thousand boys
xms alaf d l-wlad
Numbers larger than 1000 that are not exact multiples of 1000 are combined with nouns according to
the rules for the final digits, as you saw with numbers that were not exact multiples of 100.
Larger Numbers
Singular
Plural
million(s)
mlyun
mlayn
billion(s)
mlyar
mlayr
Exercise: Correctly combine numbers with nouns by filling in the blanks using the
following numbers and any necessary letters: 1, 3, 8, 13, 20, 400, or 1000.
There may be more than one correct answer for each.
3 d l-bnat
(the girls)
(house)
dar
stilu
drhm
mutatawwi
rjal
ustad
(pen)
(dirham)
(volunteer)
(men)
(teacher)
otil
(hotel)
magana
(watch)
l-yalat
(the
women)
Ordinal Numbers / Fractions

Ordinal Numbers
For numbers 1 thru 12, there is a separate form for cardinal and ordinal numbers. From 13 on there is
no difference between the cardinal and ordinal number.
first
l-luwl
second
t-teni
third
t-talt
fourth
r-rab
fifth
l-xams
sixth
s-sat / s-sads
seventh
s-sab
eighth
t-tamn
ninth
t-tas
tenth
l-ar
eleventh
l-ad
twelfth
t-tan
30 Moroccan Arabic
Ordinal numbers act like adjectives, and therefore must agree in gender and number with the noun
they describe. Listed are the masculine singular forms. To make the feminine form, add a ( ) to the
ordinal number. To make it plural, add in ( ).
Masculine
l-luwl
Feminine
l-luwla
Plural
l-luwlin
t-talt
t-talta
t-taltin
first
third
Fractions
half
ns
third
tulut
fourth
rubu / rb
Time
To express time, we use the demonstrative pronoun hadi and the appropriate number with the
definite article (see page 147 for more info on the definite article). This means that for 1:00, 5:00,
10:00, and 11:00, we will use the letter l ( ) before the number, while for the others, we will double the
first consonant.
one
l-wda
seven
s-sba
two
j-juj
eight
t-tmnya
three
t-tlata
nine
t-tsud
four
r-rba
ten
l-ra
five
l-xmsa
eleven
l-da
six
s-stta
twelve
t-tna
Like in English, Arabic uses certain words to express things like quarter to five, half past seven, etc.
before
ql
twenty minutes
tulut
and
half
ns
exactly
nian
quarter to
lla rob
quarter
rb
five minutes
qsm
ten minutes
qsmayn

Some examples of asking and answering about time:
What time is it?
al hadi f s-saa?
It is exactly one oclock.
hadi l-wda nian.
It is five minutes past two.
hadi j-juj u qsm.
It is ten minutes past three.
hadi t-tlata u qsmayn.
It is a quarter past four.
hadi r-rba u rb.
It is twenty minutes past five.
hadi l-xmsa u tulut.
hadi s-stta u xmsa u

It is twenty-five minutes past six. rin.
It is eight thirty-five.
hadi s-sba u ns.

hadi tmnya u xmsa u
tlatin.
It is twenty minutes to nine.
hadi t-tsud ql tulut.
It is a quarter to ten.
hadi l-ra lla rob.
It is ten minutes to eleven
hadi l-da ql qsmayn.
It is five minutes to twelve.
hadi t-tna ql qsm.
6:30 A.M.
s-stta u ns d s-sba
5:15 P.M.
l-xmsa u rb d l-iya
It is seven thirty.
Exercise: Match the times with the correct Arabic translation.

10:30
l-wda u qsm
12:00
l-da u qsmayn
1:05
t-tna nihan
2:20
l-ra ql tulut
11:10
9:40
l-ra u ns
j-juj u tulut
32 Moroccan Arabic
Exercise: Give the time in Arabic for each clock or watch.
34 Moroccan Arabic
At the Hanoot
Vocabulary
store
anut
peanuts
kaw kaw
store keeper
mul l-anut
almonds
l-luz
soda
l-monada
bottle
l-qra
chocolate
-klat
bottle of water
qra d l-ma
candies
l-lwa
Kleenex
kliniks
gum
l-mska
toilet paper
ppapiyi
jinik
cookies
l-biskwi
tooth paste
dontifris
juice
l-asir
soap
s-sabun
bread
l-xubz
shampoo
-ampwan
jam
l-konfitur
detergent
tid
butter
z-zbda
bleach
javel
eggs
l-bid
batteries
l-jrat d
r-radyu
yogurt
danon
razor
r-razwar
milk
l-lib
tobacco store
s-saka
coffee
l-qhwa
cigarettes
l-garru
tea
atay
package(s)
bakiya(t)
sugar
s-skkar
cheese
l-frmaj
money
l-flus
oil
z-zit
change
s-srf
Expressions
Do you have ... ?
we ndk ... ?
Yes, I do (have).
iyeh, ndi.
No, I dont (have).
lla, ma-ndi-.
Is there ... ?
we kayn ... ?
Yes, there is. (masc.)
iyeh, kayn / mujud
Yes, there is. (fem.)
iyeh, kayna / mujuda
No, there isnt. (masc.)
lla, ma-kayn-.
No, there isnt. (fem.)
lla, ma-kayna-.
Give me ... please.
tini ... afak.
What do you want maam / sir?
nu biti a lalla/sidi?
How much?
bal?
Do you have change?
we ndk s-srf?
Do you have change for ... ?
we ndk s-srf dyal..?
Liter
liter
itru
liter
rubu itru
liter
ns itru
1 liter
wad itru
2 liters
juj itru
I want a liter of milk.
bit ns itru d l-lib.
Dialogue
Karla: s-salamu alaykum.
mul l-anut: wa alaykum s-salam.
nu biti a lalla?
Karla: we ndk klat?
mul l-anut: iyeh, mujud a lalla.
Karla: tini juj bakiyat.
bal?
mul l-anut: tna l drhm.
Karla: hak, barak llah u fik.
mul l-anut: bla jmil
1. feen kayna Karla?
2. we rat l-lib?
3. nu rat mn l-anut?
4. al mn bakiya?
5. bal?
36 Moroccan Arabic
Verb to want
In Moroccan Arabic, the verb to want is ba ( ). This verb uses the past tense but has a present
tense meaning. When conjugated in the present tense, ba means to like (see page 96).
I want
bit
you want (sing.)
biti
he wants
ba
she wants
bat
we want
bina
you want (plur.)
bitu
they want
bau
Verb + Noun Examples

I want tea.
bit atay.
Do you want coffee with sugar?
we biti l-qhwa b
skkar?
Ali wants a glass of water.
Ali ba kas d l-ma.
Driss and Fatima dont want

soda.
Driss u Fatima ma-bau-

l-monada.
Exercise: Make as many sentences as you can.

e.g. Hicham ba kuka.
Hicham
bgit
atay
hiya
ba
l-lib
Fatima
bau
lwa b klat
huwa
bat
l-qhwa
huma
biti
asir l-limun
ana
bina
qhwa bla skkar
na
bitu
kuka
ntuma
nta
nti
Listening Exercise
garsun: s-salamu alaykum.
Amy, Jack,
& Chris: wa alaykum s-salam.
garsun: a b l-xatr?
Jack: ana bit asir l-limun.
garsun: waxxa a sidi, u nta?
Chris: ana bit qhwa ns ns.
garsun: waxxa a sidi, u nti?
Amy: bit qhwa kla.
garsun: mrba, la r-ras u
l-in.
1. nu ba Jack?
2. we Amy bat lib sxun?
3. nu ba Chris?
Kayn for There is

The words kayn, kayna, and kaynin are actually the participles for the verb to be. In Darija,
however, we use them most often in the sense of there is or there are.
Affirmative
there is (masc. sing.)
kayn
there is (fem. sing.)
kayna
there are (plur.)
kaynin
Negative
there is not (masc. sing.)
ma-kayn-
there is not (fem. sing.)
ma-kayna-
there are not (plur.)
ma-kaynin-
Driss is at home.
kayn Driss f d-dar.
Is there water in the bottle?
we kayn l-ma f l-qra?
Tom is not at the caf.
ma-kayn- Tom f l-qhwa.
There is food in the fridge.
kayna l-makla f t-tlaja.
There are many books on the

table.
kaynin bzzaf d l-ktub

fuq tbla.
38 Moroccan Arabic
Family
describe family members
use the verb to have in simple sentences
Cultural Points
Family ties are very strong in Morocco. Children remain in touch or live with the family even if
they get married (taking into consideration space available within the house). Men are not expected to
help in the kitchen. Roles of men and women may differ in the city and in the country.
Family Members
Vocabulary
woman/wife
mra
in-law(s)
nsib / nsab
man/husband
rajl
step-son
rbib
girl/daughter
bnt
step-daughter
rbiba
boy/son
wld
grandfather
jdd
girls/daughters
bnat
grandmother
jdda
boys/sons/
children
wlad
uncle (paternal)
mm
the parents
l-walidin
aunt (paternal)
mma
uncle (maternal)
xal
aunt (maternal)
xala
my nephew
(brothers side)
wld xuya
my niece
(brothers side)
bnt xuya
my nephew
(sisters side)
wld xti
my niece
(sisters side)
bnt xti
my cousin
(mas., paternal)
wld mm(t)i
the father
l'ab
the mother
l'om
the brother
l'ax
the sister
(my) brother
l'oxt
xu(ya)
brothers/ siblings xut
These forms are

rarely used in
Moroccan Arabic.
Sometimes they
are used with
dyal. More
often, we use the
forms my father,
my sister, etc.
my cousin
wld xal(t)i
(mas., maternal)
(my) sister
xt(i)
my cousin
(fem, paternal)
bnt mm(t)i
sisters
xwatat
my cousin
(fem, maternal)
bnt xal(t)i

For father, mother, brother, sister, aunt, and uncle, the word is almost always used with a possessive
pronoun. Thus, we say my father or his mother or your brother, but rarely ever use them alone.
The words brother, sister, aunt, and uncle take the possessive pronoun endings you already learned
(see page 8), but father and mother have a couple irregularities.
my father
bba
my mother
mmi
your father
bbak
your mother
mmk
his father
bbah
his mother
mmu
her father
bbaha
her mother
mha
Exercise: Add the possessive endings to the following:

sister
xt
brother
xu
uncle
mm
aunt
mma
Expressions
How is Mohamed related to
you?
a kay-jeek Mohamed?
How is Amina related to you?
a kat-jeek Amina?
My mom doesnt work.
mmi ma-xddama-.
My mom and dad are divorced.
bba u mmi mtllqin.
I have two twin siblings.
ndi juj xut twam.
How many siblings do you

have?
al d l-xut ndk?
How many sisters do you have?
al mn oxt ndk?
Whats your fathers name?
nu smit bbak?
How old is your brother?
al f mr xuk?
I have a younger brother.
ndi xuya sr mnni.
My (male) cousin and I are the

same age.
ana u wld mmi qd qd.
My older sister is a teacher.
xti lli kbr mnni

ustada.
My younger brother goes to

school.
xuya lli sr mnni

kay-qra.
40 Moroccan Arabic
Exercise: Describe the relationships between family members for each arrow.
ex: 1. Fatima ______ Samira.
Fatima
Aziz
Karima
Ahmed
11
Samira
12
Mohamed
Rachid
Verb to have
The verb to have nd (
) in the present tense:
I have
ndi
you have (sing.)
ndk
he has
ndu
she has
ndha
we have
ndna
you have (plur.)
ndkum
they have
ndhum
Moha and Fatima have two

daughters and a son.
Moha u Fatima ndhum juj

bnat u wld.
We have a good teacher.
ndna ustad mzyan.
To negate the verb, use ma ... (
).
Do you have a house in

Morocco?
we ndk dar f l-mrib?
No, I dont. I have a house in

the U.S.
lla, ma-ndi-. ndi dar

f mirikan.
13
Youness
Exercise: Put the verb nd in the correct form.

1. xti _________ 24 am.
24
2. xuya _________ 2 wlad.

3. na _________ wld u tlata d
l-bnat.
4. huma _________ famila kbira.
5. we Mohamed _________ tomobil?

6. lla, _________.
Exercise: Put sentences A thru I in the correct order for this letter from Karim to Tom.
sabi Tom,
bitini n-hdr lik la l-famila dyali?
A. bba smitu Ali.
.A
B. mmi ndha ir 52 am.

C. Hassan ndu 15 am u Mohamed ndu
20 am.
D. (kay-sknu mana f d-dar) welakin
xti mzuwja.
E. rajlha smitu Moha. ndhum wad
l-bnt smitha Nadia.
F. ndoo 26 am.
52
20
.B
15
.C
.D
.E
26
.F
G. smitha Hakima
.G
H. ndi juj xut.
.H
I. ana deba xal!
.I
hdr liya la l-famila dyalk ta nta.

sabk, Karim
Practice Text
smiti John. baba smitu Stephen u
mama smitha Judy. ndi tlata d
l-xut: juj bnat u wld. xuya smitu
Brian. huwa xddam f wad -arika.
xti Kathy. mzuwja u ndha jooj
drari: wld u bnt. l-wld mazal sir
ndu tlt hur. l-bnt ndha tmn snin
u kat-mi l l-mdrasa. xti s-sira,
Mary, mazal kat-qra f l-jamia.
1. bat John, nu smitu?
2. u mmu, nu smitha?
3. al d l-xut nd John?
4. kun s-sir f l-a'ila d John?
5. we bnt xt John xddama?
42 Moroccan Arabic
Directions
use prepositions to describe the locations of objects
give and receive directions to places around town
Prepositions
to / for
until
tta l
in / at
above / on
fuq
from
mn
below / under
tt
with
(someone)
ma
in front of
qddam
with / by / by
means of
facing
mqabl ma
without
bla
behind
mura
on / about
la
next to
da
between
bin
before
qbl
of, belonging
to
d / dyal
after
bd
kora
Exercise: fin l-kora?

1
snduq
4
l-kora fuq s-snduq.
Directions
Vocabulary
hotel
l-otil
hospital /
health center
s-sbitar
post office
l-bosta
pharmacy
l-frmasyan
train station
la-gar
mosque
j-jam
bus station
l-matta d
l-kiran
public phone
t-telebutik
city bus stop
l-matta d
t-tubisat
store
l-anut
bank
l-banka
avenue
-ari
public bath
l-mmam
street
z-znqa
restaurant
r-ristora
alley
d-drb
caf
l-qhwa
far (from)
bid (mn)
cyber caf
s-siber
close (to)
qrib (mn)
school
l-mdrasa
here
hna
weekly market
s-suq
there
tmma
Expressions
Where is ... please?
fin kayn(a) ... afak.
Is there a ... close?
we kayn(a) i ...
qrib(a)?
Go straight.
sir nian.
Turn right.
dur l limn.
Turn left.
dur l lisr.
Go ahead a bit.
zid wiya l qddam.
Pass the first street.
fut z-znqa l-luwla.
The 2nd street, yes.
z-znqa tenya iyeh.
44 Moroccan Arabic
Dialogue
Jason u Brahim f l-matta d l-kiran.
Jason: s-salamu alaykum.
Brahim: wa alaykum s-salam.
Jason: fin la-gar afak?
Brahim: sir nian tta l z-znqa
t-talta u dur l lisr, u
mn bd zid nian tta l
l-bar u dur l limn.
tmma la-gar.
Jason: barak llah u fik.
Brahim: kat-tkllm l-rbiya
mzyan!
Jason: wiya u safi.
Brahim: we nta fransawi?
Jason: lla, ana mirikani.
y-hnnik.
lla
Brahim: bslama.
Exercise: Using the same map, give each person directions.

1. Dave is in the sbitar and wants to go to l-bosta.
2. Anna is in the matta and wants to go to l-otil.
3. Stephen is in the mari and wants to go to s-siber.
4. Hakim is in the anut and wants to go to l-mmam.
l-
la gar
r-ristora
s-siber
l-bar
l-mdrasa
l-mari
j-jrda
l-qhwa
l-frmasyan
l-banka
t-telebutik
l-ot
l-bost
j-jam
mat
s-sbit
Past Events
talk about past activities with regular and irregular verbs
talk about what you did not do using negative sentences
ask about past experiences (Have you ever...) and respond (Ive never...)
use object pronouns with verbs
ask varied questions with different question words
Time Vocabulary
Before we begin the past tense, lets learn some words that will help us describe when past events took
place. Then we will be ready to talk about some of our past activities.
Days of the Week

day
yum / nhar
Tuesday
t-tlat
week
simana
Wednesday
l-arb
Sunday
l-dd
Thursday
l-xmis
Monday
l-tnin
Friday
j-jma
Saturday
s-sbt
Months of the Year

month
hr
June
yunyu
year
am
July
yulyuz
January
yanayr
August
ut
February
fbrayr
September
utnbir
March
mars
October
oktobr
April
abril
November
nuwanbir
May
may
December
dujanbir
season
fasl
summer
s-sif
seasons
fosul
fall
l-xrif
spring
r-rbi
winter
-ta
The Seasons
For information about the months of the Islamic calendar and some of the major religious events
of the year, see Moroccan Holidays on page 159.
46 Moroccan Arabic
Time Expressions
this year
had l-am
last year
l-am lli fat
last month
-hr lli fat
last week
s-simana lli fatt
yesterday
l-bar
today
l-yum
on (+ day of the week)
nhar
on Friday
nhar j-jma
in (+ month)
f hr
in August
f hr ut
f hr tmnya
at (+ time)
at 9:00
f t-tsud
at dawn
f l-fjr
in the morning
f s-sba
in the afternoon / evening
f l-iya
at night
f l-lil
at midnight
f ns l-lil
Past Tense Regular Verbs

Verbs in General
When learning verbs in a foreign language, we usually learn the infinitive form of the verb (e.g. to
eat), and then learn how to conjugate from that infinitive (I eat, he eats, they eat). In Arabic, there
are not infinitives for verbs in this way. Rather, we learn the he form of the verb (i.e. third person
masculine singular) in the past tense, and then learn how to conjugate the other forms (I, you, she,
etc.) from the he form. Because we use this past tense he form like an infinitive for the purposes of
learning verbs, if you see something referred to as an infinitive, it is this form. Some examples:
past tense
he form:
like an infinitive
he drank
rb
he hit
drb
he sat
gls
Whenever you are given a new verb in this book or by your teacher, it will be given to you in this form.
You will be able to conjugate verbs in the past or present tense based upon this infinitive form.
The vast majority of Darija (Moroccan Arabic) verbs are made up of three letters (see the verbs
above). To these stems we can add prefixes (letters that we attach to the beginning of a word) and
suffixes (letters we attach to the end of a word) in order to conjugate the verb. Stems with a vowel in
the middle and stems with a vowel at the end will differ from verbs with three consonants.
Regular Verbs in the Past Tense

When we say regular verb, we mean a verb that is conjugated according to rules that the large
majority of verbs in the language use. An irregular verb is conjugated according to different rules.
There are regular and irregular verbs for both the past and present tense in Darija. However, irregular
verbs that are similar in the past may be different in the present. So, you need to realize that the groups
of verbs categorized together for the past tense may not always correspond to the groups in the present
tense.
In general, regular verb refers to:
All 3-letter verbs without the long vowel a (

) in the middle or end position
(i.e. 3-letter verbs made up only of consonants)
All verbs with more than 3 letters and not ending in a (
)
To conjugate a regular verb in the past tense, we add the following suffixes (endings):
Remember
that the
infinitive is
the same as
the past tense
he form.
to write
ktb
I wrote
ktbt
you wrote (masc. sing.)
ktbti
you wrote (fem. sing.)
ktbti
he wrote
ktb
she wrote
ktbat
we wrote
ktbna
you wrote (plur.)
ktbtu
they wrote
ktbu
In the past
tense, you
(masc.) and
you (fem.)
are the same.
In the present
tense, they
will be
different.
Some Regular Verbs

to drink
rb
to understand
fhm
to know
rf
to work
xdm
to play
lb
to hit
drb
to draw
rsm
to stop / stand up
wqf
to sleep
ns
to arrive
wsl
to wear
lbs
to hear / listen
sm
to stay / sit
gls
to ask
suwl
to enter
dxl
to travel
safr
to go out
xrj
to help
awn
to return
rj
to send
sift
to watch
tfrrj
to wash
sl
to use
stml
to speak
tkllm
48 Moroccan Arabic
Some examples:
Yesterday, I drank tea without
sugar.
l-bar, rbt atay bla

skkar.
Last week, Said wrote a letter to

his friend.
s-simana lli fatt, Said

ktb bra l sabu.
Last year, we traveled to New

York.
l-am lli fat, safrna l

New York.
Exercise: Put the verbs in parentheses in the correct form.

Mohamed: we (ns) bkri l-bar?
Hassan: lla
Mohamed: la?
Hassan: (gls) ma l-a'ila dyali
u (tkllm) mahum wiya.
mn bd, {na}(xrj). mlli
(rj), (lb) l-karta u
(tfrrj) f t-tlfaza. mn
bd {ana}(dxl) l l-bit
dyali u (ns).
l-dd lli fat, (awn) xti f l-kuzina:
(sl) l-mman u (tiyb) l-da.
Past Tense Irregular Verbs

When we speak about irregular verbs for the past tense, we refer to three categories: 1. three-letter
verbs with the long vowel a ( ) in the middle position, 2. any verb with the long vowel a (
) at the
end, and 3. two-letter verbs.
1st Category: long vowel a ( ) in the middle position

To conjugate a three-letter verb in the past tense with the long vowel a in the middle position, remove
the long vowel a for the I, you (sing.), we, and you (plur.) forms before adding the past tense
endings. For the she form, only add a t. The he and they forms are like regular verbs.
In these forms,
we remove the
middle a and
then add the
endings.
In these forms,
we keep the
middle a and
then add the
endings.
to be
kan
I was
knt
you were (masc. sing.)
knti
you were (fem. sing.)
knti
he was
kan
she was
kant
we were
knna
you were (plur.)
kntu
they were
kanu
Some Irregular Verbs with long vowel a ( ) in the middle position

to see
af
to get up /
stand up
nad
to do / make
dar
to throw
la
to swim
am
to pass / pass by
daz
to sell
ba
to pass
fat
to bring
jab
to love / be
dying for
mat la
to say
gal
to increase
zad
to fast
sam
to be scared
xaf
to drive
sag
to live
Some examples:
This morning I got up at 7:00.
had s-sba ndt f s-sba.
What did you do yesterday?
nu drti l-bar?
Whats done is done. (proverb)
lli fat mat.

s-simana lli fatt, ana u sabi (am)
f la-ppisin.
Sara (a)
f mirikan amayn.
nhar s-sbt f l-iya, ana u sabati

(kan) f l-mmam. mlli xrjna (daz) l
l-qhwa.
2nd Category: long vowel a (
) at the end
To conjugate a verb with the long vowel a at the end, change the vowel to i for the I, you (sing.),
we, and you (plur.) forms, then add the normal endings. For the she form, only add a t. The he
and they forms are like regular verbs.
In these forms,
we change the
final a to i
then add the
endings.
In these forms,
we keep the final
a and then add
the endings.
to eat
kla
I ate
klit
you ate (masc. sing.)
kliti
you ate (fem. sing.)
kliti
he ate
kla
she ate
klat
we ate
klina
you ate (plur.)
klitu
they ate
klau
50 Moroccan Arabic
Some Irregular Verbs with the long vowel a (
) at the end
to go
ma
to rent
kra
to start
bda
to run
jra
to buy
ra
to finish
sala
to sing
nna
to have lunch
tdda
to give
ta
to have dinner
ta
to forget
nsa
to hope
tmna
to cry
bka
to wait
tsna
to want
ba
to read / study
qra
to take
xda
to meet
tlaqa
to come
ja
Some examples:
Last Sunday, I went to the
medina and bought a jellaba.
l-dd lli fat, mit l

l-mdina u rit jllaba.
They sang at the party on

Saturday.
huma nnau f l-fla nhar

s-sbt.

John u Amy (kra) dar zwina f
Marrakech.
l-bar ana u Paul (tlaqa) ma sabna
f r-ristora u (tdda) mjmuin.
s-simana lli fatt, huma (sala)
l-xdma dyalhum f l-mrib.
Moroccan Wisdom:
l-li ba l-sl y-sbr l qris n-nl.
The one who wants honey must tolerate bee stings.
English equivalent: Every rose has its thorn.
3rd Category: two-letter verbs

When we say two-letter verbs, some confusion can arise. When we write them in Arabic, they have
only two letters. However, there is a shedda on the second letter (see pages 3 and 146), so in the
transcription we double the second letter, making them look like three-letter verbs. In this case, you
can still recognize them because the second and third letters are the same. Or, look at the Arabic script
and you can be sure of the fact that they are, indeed, two-letter verbs.
To conjugate this type of verb, we add the long vowel i to the I, you (sing.), we, and you (plur.)
forms, then add the normal endings. The he, she, and they forms are like regular verbs.
In these forms,
we add i to the
verb, then add
the normal
endings.
to open
ll
I opened
llit
you opened (masc. sing.)

you opened (fem. sing.)
he opened
A two-letter
verb with
shedda on
the second
letter.
lliti
ll
she opened
llat
we opened
In these forms,
we simply add
the normal
endings.
lliti
llina
you opened (plur.)
llitu
they opened
llu
Some two-letter verbs

to close
sdd
to be able
qdd
to smell
mm
to pick up
hzz
to hand
mdd
to think
dnn
to answer /
return back
rdd
to be bored
mll
to pour
kbb
to take / catch
dd
to feel
ss
to pull / drag
jrr
to put
tt
Some examples:
I opened the window and I
closed the door
I felt cold
shrjm u sddit
llit s-srjm
l-bab.
ssit b l-brd.

l-bar f s-sba, Mary (rdd) l-ktab l
l-xizana.
mlli kan l-jaj, {ana} (sdd) shrjm.
s-srajm.
{na} (tt) l-wayj f l-makina d
s-sabun.
52 Moroccan Arabic
Negation
Normal Negative Form
In order to express the negative of a verb (i.e. didnt, or dont, or doesnt), we add the prefix ma ( )
to the beginning of a verb and the suffix ( ) to the end of a verb.
We drank.
rbna
We didnt drink.
ma-rbna-
Exercise: Conjugate the verbs in parentheses in the negative form.

huwa (safr) s-simana lli fatt.
l-bar f l-lil (qra) l-ktab dyali

it knt iyan.
iya (gls) mana it (sala) l-xdma
dyalha.
na (ns) bkri it (ta) bkri.
Kari (lbs) l-kswa j-jdida f l-fla
it (kan) ndha l-wqt.
mlli ja l l-mrib (sift) bra l
l-walidin dyalu.
kant l-brd u {ana} (ll) s-srajm.
.
.
Additional Negative Forms

The following negative forms replace the ( ) we use for the normal negative form. We still use ma ( )
before the verb, but we use these forms after the verb or, sometimes, before the verb (and thus before
ma).
nothing
walu
nothing
tta aja
nothing
tta i
no one
tta wad
no one
(tta) dd
neither ... nor
la ... wala
only / just
ir
Some examples:
I knew nothing.
ma-rft walu.
I ate nothing.
ma-kleet tta aja.
No one came.
tta wad ma-ja.
He saw no one.
ma-af tta wad / dd.

I met neither Mohamed nor
Amber.
I drank only water.
tlaqit la Mohamed wala

ma-laqit
Amber.
ma-rbt ir l-ma.
Exercise: Put the verbs in parentheses in the proper form.

l-dd lli fat (gls) f d-dar,
(xrj negative) laqqa (kan) -ta.
f l-iya sabi (ja) u (ma) l
s-siber bjooj. mn bd (ma) l
s-sinima. (af) wad l-film zwin.
mlli (xrj), (daz) l s-suq. (ra)
l-xodra. mn bd (dd) tobis u (rj)
l d-dar.
Exercise: Write a paragraph from these pictures.
54 Moroccan Arabic
Have you ever... / Ive never...

Have you ever...?
We can use the word mmr ( ) to express the English equivalent of the present perfect tense: Have
you ever...? and I have never... We conjugate it as follows:
Have I ever...
we mmri / mmrni
Have you (sing.) ever...
we mmrk
Has he ever...
we mmru
Has she ever...
we mmrha
Have we ever...
we mmrna
Have you (plur.) ever...
we mmrkum
Have they ever...
we mmrhum
The verb that follows mmr is often in the past tense. Some examples:
Have you ever gone to France?
we mmrk miti l Fransa?
Have they ever eaten couscous? we mmrhum klau l-ksksu?

Have you ever drunk mint tea in
America?
we mmrkum rbtu atay b

n-nna f mirikan?
Ive never...
This is like the conjugation above, with the addition of ma ( ) at the beginning of mmr (
I have never...
ma-mmri / ma-mmrni
you (sing.) have never...
ma-mmrk
he has never...
ma-mmru
she has never...
ma-mmrha
we have never...
ma-mmrna
you (plur.) have never...
ma-mmrkum
they have never...
ma-mmrhum
Some examples:
Ive never eaten hamburger.
ma-mmrni kleet l-hamborgr.
She has never been abroad.
ma-mmrha safrat l l-xarij.
He has never spoken Arabic.
ma-mmru tkllm l-rbiya.
).
Object Pronouns
In English, we have pronouns for the subject of a sentence: I, you, he, she, we, and they. But we also
have object pronouns that we use after verbs:
He hit me.
I saw her.
Ask him a question.
We gave them some cake.
So far, you have learned the independent pronouns (see page 7) and the possessive pronouns (see
page 8). Here are the object pronouns that we use in Moroccan Arabic after verbs:
me
ni
you (sing.)
him / it
u / h
her / it
ha
us
na
you (plur.)
kum
them
hum
These pronouns are the same as the possessive pronouns, with the exception of me. The him form
uses u after consonants and h after vowels, exactly like the possessive pronoun form. Some examples:
Omar gave a book to Mohamed.
omar ta wad l-ktab l

Mohamed.
Omar gave it to Mohamed.
omar tah l Mohamed.
Did you write the letter to

Hassan?
we ktbti l-bra l
Hassan?
Yes, I wrote it to Hassan.
iyeh, ktbtha l Hassan.
Why did you leave us with him?
la xllitina mah?
She saw me at the movie

theater.
aftni f s-sinima.
As you can see, these pronouns are attached directly to the verb. As a result, when a verb with an
object pronoun is made negative, the ( ) is used after the pronoun. Some examples:
You saw me.
ftini
You didnt see me.
ma-ftini-
Did you see Hakima and Karim? we fti Hakima u Karim?

No, I didnt see them.
lla, ma-fthum-.
Exercise: Replace the underlined nouns by the corresponding pronouns.

1. qrit dik l-jarida l-bar f
s-sba.
2. nsau s-sarut dyalhum f d-dar.
3. zrt duk n-nas f Fes l-bar.
56 Moroccan Arabic
4. ddau wldhum mahum l s-sinima.

5. wqqfna ffar f z-znqa.
6. bba awn xuk f l-sab.
Question Words
Some of these you already know. Some will be new for you.
who
kun
Who are you?
kun nta / nti?
what
a / nu / anu
What did you do yesterday?
nu drti l-bar?
which
amn
Which bus did you take?
amn tobis xditi?
where
fin / fayn
Where did you eat pizza?
fin kliti l-ppitza?
how
kifa
How did you get to the hotel?
kifa wslti l l-otil?
from where
mnin
Where did you come from?
mnin jiti?
when
fuqa / imta
When did you sleep yesterday?
fuqa nsti l-bar?
When did you arrive?
imta wslti?
why
la
Why did you come late?
la jiti mttl?
Because I didnt get up early.
laqqa ma-ndt- bkri.
The word mn ( ) is used after some prepositions to create question words.

with whom
ma mn
With whom did you travel to

Rabat? (In the US: Who did you travel ma mn safrti l Rabat?
to Rabat with?)
whose
dyal mn
how many / how much
al
The question word al (

) may is followed by either d ( ) or mn ( ), depending upon the noun
following it. Uncountable nouns are nouns that do not have a plural because they speak about
something that can be measured, but not counted (e.g. tea, air). Countable nouns are nouns that
have plural forms and, therefore, nouns with which we use numbers (e.g. 5 cats, 3 books). With al:
al + d + singular uncountable noun
or
al + d + plural countable noun
or
al + mn + singular countable noun
How much time?
al d l-wqt?
How many books?
al d l-ktub?
How many books?
al mn ktab?
In referring to prices, al is almost always preceded by the preposition b ( ).

How much is this shirt?
bal had l-qamija?
How much did you pay for

them?
bal ritihum?
Exercise: Write your time line of activities for last Sunday. Use the following time
expressions and verbs to write as many sentences as you can.
e.g. f l-weekend tit ma sabi f
r-ristora.
Time Expressions
Verbs
f l-weekend
tfrrj
ta
f s-sba bkri
dar
safr
f l-iya
awn
tsnna
f l-lil
sam
ja
mn bd
kbb
ma
l-dd lli fat
dqq
tlaqa
f (time)
xaf
wsl
af
qra
duw
tkllm
lbs
sift
58 Moroccan Arabic
Daily Routines
talk about your daily activities using the present tense
use one verb after another to express complex thoughts
give commands with the imperative
Present Tense Regular Verbs

Present Tense in General
In Arabic, the present tense normally expresses both habitual and progressive actions.
habitual action:
I eat couscous every Friday.
progressive action: I am eating couscous now.
For a small number of verbs, the present tense expresses only habitual actions (see page 151 for more
information on these verbs).
Unlike the past tense, which uses only suffixes (endings) to conjugate a verb, the present tense uses
both suffixes and prefixes. The present tense prefix is written with ka ( ) and another letter (n, t,
or y). Present tense suffixes (i or u) may be added as well.
Regular Verbs in the Present Tense

Verbs that were regular in the past tense are still regular in the present tense. In addition to these,
two-letter verbs are also regular in the present tense. Therefore, they will be conjugated like ktb
( ) in the present tense. See page 51 for more information on two-letter verbs.
Here is the conjugation of the verb ktb in the present tense, with prefixes and suffixes underlined:
Yes, these
are the
same. You
understand
the speaker
by context.
to write
ktb
I write
kan-ktb
you write (masc. sing.)
kat-ktb
you write (fem. sing.)
kat-ktbi
he writes
kay-ktb
she writes
kat-ktb
we write
kan-ktbu
you write (plur.)
kat-ktbu
they write
kay-ktbu
Q: What changes are brought to the verb when conjugated in the present tense?
These have
different
conjugations.
In the past
tense, they
had the same
conjugation.
Time Expressions
always
dima
usually
aliban
sometimes
bd l-mrrat
from time to time
mrra mrra
once a ...
mrra f ...
once a year
mrra f l-am
once a month
mrra f l-hr
once a week
mrra f s-simana
everyday
yawmiyan
on (day of the week)
nhar ...
on Saturday
nhar s-sbt
every ...
kul ...
every morning
kul sba
every Friday
kul jma
now
deba
Some examples:
Malika drinks milk every

morning.
Greg kay-tkllm d-darija

mzyan.
Malika kat-rb l-lib kul
sba.
Amina and her friend travel to

France once a year.
Amina u sabtha kay-safru

l fransa mrra f l-am.
Aicha is pouring tea.
Aicha kat-kbb atay.
I dont drink coffee.
ma-kan-rb- l-qhwa.
Greg speaks Darija well.
Exercise: Answer the following sentences (based on the examples above) in the
negative.
1. we Greg kay-tkllm tamazit mzyan?
2. we Malika kat-rb atay kul sba?
3. we Amina u sabtha kay-safru l

mirikan mrra f l-am?
4. we Aicha kat-kbb l-ma?
60 Moroccan Arabic
Exercise: Describe in the present tense the following activities.

nu kay-dir / kat-dir / kay-diru?
Present Tense Irregular Verbs with Middle a

Irregular Verbs in General
Irregular verbs in the present tense are
more complicated than in the past tense.
In the past tense, verbs with the same
structure (a in the middle, a at the
end) were conjugated the same way. In
the present tense, verbs that look the
same in their infinitive form may be
conjugated differently.
As a result of this difference, in the
present tense you will have to remember
which category of conjugation each
irregular verb belongs to. These categories are listed in the diagram to the right,
and each will be shown individually. The
glossary of verbs in the appendix (see
page 163) also shows, by example, how
an irregular verb is conjugated.
Categories of Present Tense Irregular Verbs

a becomes u
long vowel
a in
the middle
a becomes i
a remains a
Present
Tense
Irregular
Verbs
a becomes i
long
vowel a
at the end
a remains a
internal changes
We will deal with two large groups of irregular verbs: 3-letter verbs with a long vowel a in the middle
and all verbs with a long vowel a at the end. Within each of these general groups, there will be three
categories of different conjugations. At times, it may seem like too much information to handle. But
Peace Corps trainees have been learning the irregular present tense for years; youll do great.
Practicing irregular verbs with your homestay family is one way to remember how each verb is
conjugated. The more you use the verbs, the quicker they will stick in your memory.
1st Category: Long a Becomes Long u

Remember, here we are dealing with 3-letter verbs with a ( ) in the middle. The long vowel a ( ) changes
to the long vowel u ( ), with the same prefixes and suffixes as regular verbs in the present tense.
to say
gal
I say
kan-gul
you say (masc. sing.)
kat-gul
you say (fem. sing.)
kat-guli
he says
kay-gul
she says
kat-gul
we say
kan-gulu
you say (plur.)
kat-gulu
they say
kay-gulu
Verbs like gal

to be
kan
to pass
fat
to blame
lam
to see
af
to die
mat
to swim
am
to drive / ride
sag
to taste
daq
to fast
sam
to throw
la
to melt
dab
to turn
dar
to pass
daz
to visit
zar
Some examples:
Muslims fast Ramadan every
year.
l-mslmin kay-sumu rmdan

kul am.
Lisa swims well.
Lisa kat-um mzyan.
This driver doesnt drive well.
had -ifur ma-kay-sug-

mzyan.
When the verb to be, kan ( ) is conjugated in the present tense, it expresses a habitual action or
activity, not a current state or condition.
Where are you (every) Saturday fin kat-kun nhar s-sbt f
l-iya?
afternoon?
In order to express current states or conditions, use independent pronouns with adjectives or nouns
(see page 7) or use the participles of kan ( ) (see page 37). You have already learned both!
62 Moroccan Arabic

2nd Category: Long a Becomes Long i

In this category, the long vowel a ( ) in the middle of the verb changes to the long vowel i ( ), with the
same prefixes and suffixes as regular verbs in the present tense.
to bring
jab
I bring
kan-jib
you bring (masc. sing.)
kat-jib
you bring (fem. sing.)
kat-jibi
he brings
kay-jib
she brings
kat-jib
we bring
kan-jibu
you bring (plur.)
kat-jibu
they bring
kay-jibu
Verbs like jab

to add
zad
to fly
tar
to be absent
ab
to leak
sal
to be cooked
tab
to wake up
faq
to do / make
dar
sell
ba
to fall
ta
to touch
qas
to trust
taq

Some examples:
I dont wake up early on

Sundays.
Hassan kay-bi l-xodra f

s-suq.
ma-kan-fiq- bkri nhar
l-dd.
What do you do on Saturdays?
nu kat-dir nhar s-sbt?
Hassan sells (is selling)

vegetables in the souq.

3rd Category: Long a Remains Long a

In this category, the long vowel a ( ) remains the same, without any changes, with the same prefixes
and suffixes as regular verbs in the present tense.
to spend the night
bat
I spend the night
kan-bat
you spend the night

(masc. sing.)
kat-bat
you spend the night

(fem. sing.)
kat-bati
he spends the night
kay-bat
she spends the night
kat-bat
we spend the night
kan-batu
you spend the night

(plur.)
kat-batu
they spend the night
kay-batu
Verbs like bat

to appear
ban
to owe
sal
to look like
ban bal
to be scared
xaf
64 Moroccan Arabic
Some examples:
The mouse is scared of the cat.
l-far kay-xaf mn l-qt.
You look like you are sick.
kat-ban bal ila mrid.
Present Tense Irregular Verbs with Final a

Now we change our focus from verbs with a long vowel a ( ) in the middle of the verb to those with a
long vowel a ( ) at the end of the verb.
1st Category: Long a Becomes Long i

In this category, the long vowel a ( ) changes to the long vowel i ( ), with the same prefixes and
suffixes as regular verbs in the present tense.
to run
These have
the same
conjugation in
this category.
jra
I run
kan-jri
you run (masc. sing.)
kat-jri
you run (fem. sing.)
kat-jri
he runs
kay-jri
she runs
kat-jri
we run
kan-jriu
you run (plur.)
kat-jriu
they run
kay-jriu
Verbs like jra

to build
bna
to go
ma
to buy
ra
to pray
slla
to cry
bka
to like / love
ba
to clean
nqqa
to show
wrra
to come
ja
to sing
nna
to fold
twa
to smoke
kma
to fry
qla
to teach
qrra
to finish
sala
to turn off
tfa

Some examples:
Hassan sings (is singing) in the
shower.
Hassan kay-nni f d-du.
I dont smoke hash.
ma-kan-kmi- l-i.
Do you run every morning?
we kat-jri kul sba?

2nd Category: Long a Remains Long a

In this category, the long vowel a ( ) remains the same, without any changes, with the same prefixes
and suffixes as regular verbs in the present tense.
to read / study
qra
I read
kan-qra
you read (masc. sing.)
kat-qra
you read (fem. sing.)
kat-qray
he reads
kay-qra
she reads
kat-qra
we read
kan-qrau
you read (plur.)
kat-qrau
they read
kay-qrau
66 Moroccan Arabic
Verbs like qra

to forget
nsa
to defy
tdda
to find
lqa
to eat lunch
tdda
to hope
tmnna
to eat dinner
ta
to meet
tlaqa
to be cured
bra
to go shopping
tqdda
to be finished
tsala
to walk around
tsara
to take care
(of)
thlla (f)
Some examples:
From time to time we eat dinner
at the restaurant.
mrra mrra kan-tau f

r-ristora.
I dont go shopping every day.
ma-kan-tqdda- kul yum.
How many books do you read in al mn ktab kat-qra f

-hr?
a month?

Moroccan Wisdom:
drb l-did maddu sxun.
Strike while the iron is hot.
3rd Category: Verb Has Internal Changes

Two verbs in Moroccan Arabic are conjugated in the present tense by changing their internal structure
in addition to adding the normal prefixes and suffixes.
In these forms, the

u is pronounced
very quickly. Thus,
one shouldnt say
kan-akuuuuul,
but rather
kan-akul
to eat
kla
I eat
kan-akul
you eat (masc. sing.)
kat-akul
you eat (fem. sing.)
kat-akuli
he eats
kay-akul
she eats
kat-akul
we eat
kan-aklu
you eat (plur.)
kat-aklu
they eat
kay-aklu
Another Verb like kla

to take
xda
Some examples:
Every Friday we eat couscous.
kul jma kan-aklu ksksu.
She takes medicine before she

goes to bed.
kat-axud d-dwa qbl

ma t-ns.

68 Moroccan Arabic
Using One Verb after Another

Sometimes, we will want to use one verb directly after another. This is true in English:
I want to read.
He likes to cook.
We forgot to call you.
She began to study yesterday.
As the examples show, in English we use the infinitive after a verb (to read, to cook, to call, to study).
But in Arabic, as you recall, there isnt actually an infinitive for verbs (see page 46). Instead, we use the
present tense of a verb without the opening ka. This will serve as the equivalent of the
English infinitive when we use one verb after another.
Present
Tense
Without
ka
Used after ba
I want to go.
kan-mi
n-mi
bit n-mi
You want to go.
kat-mi
t-mi
biti t-mi
He wants to go.
kay-mi
y-mi
ba y-mi
She wants to go.
kat-mi
t-mi
bat t-mi
We want to go.
kan-miu
n-miu
bina n-miu
You want to go.
kat-miu
t-miu
bitu t-miu
They want to go.
kay-miu
y-miu
bau y-miu
Some more examples:

I hope to speak Darija well.
kan-tmnna n-tkllm
d-darija mzyan.
He forgot to bring the book.
nsa y-jib l-ktab.
Using with Other Expressions

This same construction is used after other words and expressions. The most important of these is bash
( ). This word is the equivalent of the English in order to. Some examples:
Latifa went to the post office
in order to send a letter.
I went to Marrakech in order
to see my friend.
Latifa mat l l-bosta

ba t-sift bra.
mit l Marrakech
ba n-uf sabi.
Exercise: Combine the following words into sentences, using the proper conjugations
of verbs and pronouns.
1. Amina / ma / l l-bosta / ba / ra / kart d t-tilifun.
2. huwa / ba / ma / l mirikan / ba / qra.
3. na / ja / l l-mrib / ba / awn / nas dyalu / u / trrf / lihum / u /
{huma} rf {na} / mzyan.
The Imperative
The imperative is used to give commands: Go to the store! Open the window! Study Arabic! The
positive imperative tells someone to do something, the negative imperative tells someone not to do
something.
The positive imperative is formed by dropping both the ka ( ) and the prefix t ( ) from the singular
and plural you forms of the present tense. In the following table, all the examples are equal to the
English command, Write!
Present Tense
Imperative
you (masc. sing.)
kat-ktb
ktb
you (fem. sing.)
kat-ktbi
ktbi
you (plur. sing.)
kat-ktbu
ktbu
The negative imperative is formed by dropping the ka ( ) and using the negative form ma... (
).
In the following table, the first verb is gls, to sit, and the negative imperatives are equivalent to the
English Dont sit! The second verb is wqf, to stand / stop and the negative imperatives are
equivalent to the English Dont stand up!
Present Tense
you (masc. sing.) kat-gls
Imperative
Negative Imperative
gls
ma-t-gls-
you (fem. sing.)
kat-glsi
glsi
ma-t-glsi-
you (plur. sing.)
kat-glsu
glsu
ma-t-glsu-
wqf
ma-t-wqf-
you (masc. sing.) kat-wqf

you (fem. sing.)
kat-wqfi
wqfi
ma-t-wqfi-
you (plur. sing.)
kat-wqfu
wqfu
ma-t-wqfu-
Some Irregular Imperatives

For the following three verbs, the positive imperative is not regular.
1.
to go
ma
sir
Go.
siri
ma-t-mi-
Dont go.
siru
2.
to come
ma-t-miu-
ja
aji
Come.
aji
ma-t-ji-
Dont come.
ajiu
3.
to give
ma-t-ji-
ma-t-jiu-
ta / ara
ara
Give me.
ma-t-mi-
aray
arau
ma-t-tini-
Dont give me.
ma-t-tini-
ma-t-tiuni-
70 Moroccan Arabic
Exercise: Put the verbs between parentheses in correct form, then arrange the
sentences in the correct order.
A. mn bd (lbs) wayji.
B. (sl) wjhi u snan, mn bd (fiyq) d-drari.
C. ana (nad) f 7:30.
7:30
D. f l-iya (tqdda) wlla (xmml) d-dar.

E. ana (xdm) tta l 1:00 mn bd (tdda).
1:00
F. (wjd) l-ftur.
G. na (ta) mjmuin.
H. ana (ns) aliban f 11:00.
11:00
I. ana (dd) t-tubis f 8:00 ba (ma) l-xdma.
8:00
J. d-drari (ns) f 8:00.
8:00
Exercise: Write a paragraph out of each set of pictures.

John
Bobby
Text
kifa kat-duwz n-nhar?
Susan mutatawia ma hay'at s-salam. kul
nhar kat-fiq bkri u kat-jri. mn bd
kat-duw u kat-ftr. dima f s-sba kat-xdm
tta l 11:30. mlli kat-sali, kat-rj l
d-dar. kat-wjjd l-makla u kat-tdda. f
l-iya kat-tqdda u bd l-mrrat kat-laqa
sabha wlla kat-mi l s-siber. f l-lil
kat-ta u dima kat-qra qbl ma t-ns.
1. nu kat-dir Susan?
we turist?
11:30
2. we kat-xdm f l-iya?
3. nu kat-dir qbl ma t-ns?
4. nu kat-dir kul nhar?
Bargaining
bargain for basic items, such as clothing
describe the colors of items
use masculine, feminine, and plural adjectives correctly
describe differences between objects using the comparative and superlative
Bargaining
General Bargaining Information
In Morocco, bargaining is a part of life. It can sometimes be tiring for people not used to it, but with
some cultural and language skills, it can become much easier. Some information about bargaining can
also make the process simpler.
First of all, you need to know what items should be bargained for, and what items normally have fixed
prices, even for Moroccans. This is not always easy to determine, since the place where you buy some
things may determine whether the price is fixed or not. For example, some items that are sold at fixed
prices in a anut (e.g. laundry soap, vegetables, eggs) may be bargained for in the souk or from a street
vendor. Ask your host family or watch other Moroccans in order to find out. Here are some general
guidelines for whether prices are fixed or not:
Usually Bargained For
any article of clothing

any household or kitchen utensil, appliance,
or furniture
rent for a house or apartment
taxi fares on unscheduled runs
anything bought in a souk (e.g. grains in
bulk, animals, rugs, etc.)
anything bought from a street vendor who
has no regular shop
petit taxi fares if the meter does not work
anything used or second-hand
domestic help and services (maid, plumber,
electrician, etc. Determine the price before
the work is done.)
Seldom Bargained For
things which are literally bought every day:

mint, parsley, bread, coriander
refill on a butagas
cigarettes and alcohol
meals or beverages in restaurants
bus fares between scheduled stops
taxi fares on regular runs
price-controlled staple foods: sugar, oil, tea,
flour, milk, butter, etc.
anything bought in a pharmacy
meat and vegetables, if the price per kilo is
posted
school supplies
It is also good to be aware of some of the standard tactics that are used between the buyer and the seller
in Morocco. If you watch Moroccans, you will see many of these.
The Buyers Tactics
not showing too much enthusiasm for buying

walking away when the seller has named the
lowest price
pointing out defects in the merchandise
quoting a lower price for an identical item in
another shop
claiming not to have enough money to meet
the seller's lowest price
complimenting or flattering the seller (on his
shop, merchandise, children, friendliness)
The Sellers Tactics
not showing too much enthusiasm for selling

turning away when the buyer has named the
highest price
noting the superior quality in the merchandise
insisting that goods in other shops are not of
the same quality
claiming that in selling at the buyers highest
price he would be taking a loss
complimenting or flattering the buyer (on his
or her language ability, friendliness, expertise
in bargaining)
72 Moroccan Arabic
The Buyers Tactics
acting insulted by the sellers price

arguing that the difference between the
sellers price and the price offered is
insignificant; i.e. the seller should come
down to the offered price
pulling out one's money as if the offered price
has been agreed upon
The Sellers Tactics
acting insulted by the buyers offer

arguing that the difference between the
buyers price and his price is insignificant and
the buyer should come up
wrapping up the purchase as if the asking

price has been agreed upon
When you are looking to buy an item that you know you will have to bargain for, there are a few things
that you should probably try to avoid. These include:
showing too much interest in, or too great a need for, a particular item
carrying large sums of money, carrying expensive, previously-bought items, looking like a tourist
having no idea what an item is really worth, or what is a fair price for that type of item
being in a hurry
buying with a guide (he gets a percentage of what you pay)
Always be prepared to pay a price you have named. Do not get too far into bargaining for something if
you do not intend to buy it. If you are not clear on the currency in which you are bargaining (i.e. ryals),
proceed slowly. In the end, dont let a bargaining scenario ruin your day. Most of us go unbothered by
the sometimes huge markups on big-ticket items in America, yet we can be easily frustrated by a
Moroccan merchant who makes an extra dollar or two off of us. Remember that ones peace of mind is
worth something, too.
Bargaining Expressions
Its too expensive!
ali bzzaf!
Lower the price.
nqs wiya.
Give a good price.
sawb maya f t-taman.
I wont add even a ryal.
ma-n-zid tta ryal.
Ill add nothing.
ma-n-zid walu.
Its too much for me.
bzzaf liya.
A good price.
i taman mzyan.
A reasonable price.
i taman mnasb.
Whats the last price?
axir taman, al?
How much will I get it for?
bal t-xllih (ha)?
Thats what I have (money)!
had -i l-li ndi!
Thats my last price!
hada huwa axir taman

dyali!
Clothing
Clothing Vocabulary
l-wayj
clothes
4
5
3
1
10
15
14
13
11
16
12
17
18
20
19
1. sifitma
11. fista
2. jean
12. jakita
3. srwal
13. pijama
4. qamija ns kmm
14. kbbut
5. qamija
15. smta
6. grafata
16. T-shirt
7. jili
17. ort
8. kustim
18. al
9. triko
19. slip
10. triko col v
20. saya
74 Moroccan Arabic
3
4
13
11
14
12
10
20
18
15
16
19
17
1. kswa
11. sbrdila
2. zif / fular
12. butyu
3. jllaba
13. sbbat
4. gndura
14. sndala
5. liba
15. maya
6. sutyanat
16. xatm
7. ligat
17. alaqat
8. kaskita
18. qiq
9. tagiya
19. snsla
10. tqar
20. mdl
Clothing Expressions
Is there anything else?
we kayna i aja xora?
Give me size ... please.
tini n-nmra ... afak.
Try this one on.
qiys hada / hadi.
Do you want another color?
we biti i lun axor?
I prefer this color.
kan-fdl had l-lun.
It goes well with you.
ja / jat mak.
Colors
colors
l-lwan
Masculine Singular
Feminine Singular
Plural
white
byd
bida
bidin
blue
zrq
zrqa
zrqin
black
kl
kla
klin
red
mr
mra
mrin
yellow
sfr
sfra
sfrin
green
xdr
xdra
xdrin
brown
qhwi
qhwiya
qhwiyin
orange
limuni
limuniya
limuniyin
pink
wrdi
wrdiya
wrdiyin
jri
jriya
jriyin
mdadi
mdadiya
mdadiyin
grey
rmadi
rmadiya
rmadiyin
golden
dhbi
dhbiya
dhbiyin
dark
mluq
mluqa
mluqin
light
mftu
mftua
mftuin
bright
nas
nasa
nasin
faded
baht
bahta
bahtin
purple
As you can see in the table above, feminine forms of colors are made by adding an a sound to the
masculine form, and plurals are made by adding in to the masculine form.
Dialogue
Michael: s-salamu alaykum.
mul l-wayj: wa alaykum s-salam.
Michael: bit jllaba afak!
mul l-wayj: mujud a sidi, amn nmra?
Michael: ma-n-rf.
mul l-wayj: qiys hadi. Ah jat mak!
Michael: kayna ir f had l-lun?
76 Moroccan Arabic
mul l-wayj: kayna f l-byd, s-sfr u
l-kl.
Michael: ara n-uf l-byd afak.
mul l-wayj: hak a sidi.
Michael: bal had -i?
mul l-wayj: hadi a sidi b 8000 ryal.
Michael: aliya bzzaf, adi
n-tik ir 3000 ryal.
mul l-wayj: lla, nqsti bzzaf. xudha
b 6000.
Michael: lla bzzaf.
8000
3000
6000
bslama.
mul l-wayj: aji, aji, tini ir 5000

ryal.
Michael: adi n-tik 3500 ryal.
biti mzyan ma-biti-
lla y-shl.
mul l-wayj: ara a sidi 3500 ryal. i
bas ma-kayn.
5000
3500
3500
Exercise: Read the text and answer the questions.

Saida ndha bzzaf d t-tsbin l-yum:
s-srwal r-rmadi u l-qamija l-bida
dyal rajlha. jean u T-shirt dyal
wldha. l-kswa l-mra u j-jakita
z-zrqa dyal bntha. s-saya l-xdra u
z-zif l-byd dyal Saida. welakin,
dyal mn t-tqar l-kl?
1. dyal mn s-srwal r-rmadi?
2. dyal mn T-shirt? nu l-lun dyalu?
3. we l-kswa l-mra dyal Saida?
4. we s-saya dyal Saida zrqa?
5. nu l-lun dyal t-tqar?
Exercise: Write a dialogue for the following pictures. Try to write it without looking at
the previous pages.
2
78 Moroccan Arabic
Adjectives
Adjectives come after the nouns they modify and must agree in gender and number. For example, if a
noun is feminine and singular then the adjective that follows must be feminine and singular as well.
Feminine and plural forms of adjectives are derived from the masculine base form. The feminine form
is made by adding an a ( ) to the end of the masculine form. The plural form, like with nouns, is not
always predictable. The two most common patterns are: adding in ( ) to the masculine form, or
replacing the long vowel i ( ) in the middle of an adjective with the long vowel a ( ). An example of
each plural form:
happy
Masculine
Singular
Plural
fran
franin
kbir
kbar
big
we add in to form the plural

we change i to a to form the plural
Adjectives in this first group (forming the plural with in) also have a feminine plural form that is used
when all the members of a group are feminine. If their is a mixture of masculine and feminine people
or objects, the masculine plural (often just called plural) is used. The feminine plural is formed by
adding at to the masculine singular base form.
Common Adjectives
English
good
Masculine
Singular
mzyan
Feminine
Singular
mzyana
Masculine
Plural
mzyanin
Feminine
Plural
mzyanat
pretty / handsome / good
zwin
zwina
zwinin
zwinat
bad / ugly
xayb
xayba
xaybin
xaybat
happy
fran
frana
franin
franat
sad / angry
mqllq
mqllqa
mqllqin
mqllqat
clean
nqi
nqiya
nqiyin
nqiyat
dirty
mussx
mussxa
mussxin
mussxat
harried
mzrub
mzruba
mzrubin
mzrubat
late
mttl
mttla
mttlin
mttlat
soft
rtb
rtba
rtbin
rtbat
harsh
ra
rin
rat
fresh
tri
triya
triyin
triyat
English
present
Masculine
Singular
adr
Feminine
Singular
adra
Masculine
Plural
adrin
Feminine
Plural
adrat
absent
ayb
ayba
aybin
aybat
sweet
lu
luwa
luwin
luwat
salty
mal
mala
malin
malat
mssus
mssusa
mssusin
mssusat
spicy
arr
arra
arrin
arrat
open
mlul
mlula
mlulin
mlulat
closed
msdud
msduda
msdudin
msdudat
mqli
mqliya
mqliyin
mqliyat
hungry
jian
jiana
jianin
jianat
thirsty
tan
tana
tanin
tanat
busy
mul
mula
mulin
mulat
lazy
mgaz
mgaza
mgazin
mgazat
tired
iyan
iyana
iyanin
iyanat
reasonable / serious
mqul
mqula
mqulin
mqulat
enough
kafi
kafiya
kafiyin
kafiyat
expensive
ali
aliya
aliyin
aliyat
wide / large
was
wasa
wasin
wasat
mzuwj
mzuwja
mzuwjin
mzuwjat
old (something)
qdim
qdima
qdam
big (something)
old (someone)
kbir
kbira
kbar
bland / tasteless
fried / grilled
married
80 Moroccan Arabic
Masculine
Singular
sir
English
small (something)
young (someone)
Feminine
Singular
sira
Masculine
Plural
Feminine
Plural
sar
new
jdid
jdida
jdad
far
bid
bida
bad
near
qrib
qriba
qrab
tall / long
twil
twila
twal
short
qsir
qsira
qsar
strong / correct
si
sia
sa
weak
dif
difa
daf
simple / easy
bsit
bsita
bsat
cheap
rxis
rxisa
rxas
poor
mskin
mskina
msakn
sick
mrid
mrida
mrad
Exercise: Describe the following pictures using adjectives.

1. hada kmm qsir.
6
4
3
11
2. hada kmm _______.

7
10
8
12
Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Comparative Adjectives
We use comparative adjectives when we are comparing two objects based upon some quality or
characteristic. For example, in English we can say: I am taller than John. Taller than is the
comparative form of the adjective tall. Here are the comparative forms for some Arabic adjectives:
Adjectives
Comparatives
good
mzyan
better
sn (mn)
nice
drif
nicer
drf (mn)
tall / long
twil
taller / longer
twl (mn)
short
qsir
shorter
qsr (mn)
big / old
kbir
bigger / older
kbr (mn)
small / young
sir
smaller /
younger
sr (mn)
heavy
tqil
heavier
tql (mn)
light
xfif
lighter
xff (mn)
old (thing)
qdim
older (thing)
qdm (mn)
few
qlil
fewer
qll (mn)
cheap
rxis
cheaper
rxs (mn)
expensive
ali
more
expensive
la (mn)
sweet
lu
sweeter
la (mn)
As you can see above, for many adjectives (but not all) the comparative is formed by removing the long
vowel i from the word. Here are some examples:
Sadia is younger than Malika.
Sadia sr mn Malika.
The train is better than the bus.
t-tran sn mn l-kar.
Comparing Like Objects

In order to express that two things/people/etc. are the same, we can use either of two expressions:
the same / alike
bal bal
the same / alike
kif kif
Some examples:
Which is better: a blue shirt or a
green one?
ama sn: qamijja zrqa

wlla xdra?
They are the same.
bal bal.
As the example shows, the word ama ( ) is used for comparisons when we mean which.
82 Moroccan Arabic
Superlative Adjectives
The superlative adjective in Moroccan Arabic can be formed in two ways.
First, by using the definite article with the adjective and inserting the personal pronoun:
Omar is bright.
Omar mujtahid.
Omar is the brightest student in

the class.
Omar huwa l-mujtahid f

l-qism.
Susan is a pretty girl.
Susan bnt zwina.
Susan is the prettiest.
Susan hiya z-zwina.
Second, by prefixing a ( ) to the comparative adjective:

Casablanca is the largest city in
Morocco.
Toubkal is the highest mountain
in Morocco.
d-dar l-bida akbr mdina

f l-mrib.
tubqal ala jbl f
l-mrib.
Exercise: Compare each pair using comparative adjectives.

t-tomobil dyal Mary
t-tomobil dyal Mike
Driss
Hassan
d-dar dyal Mohamed
-klat
d-dar dyal Judy
l-xubz
Exercise: Answer the following questions based upon the drawing.

d-dlla
l-banan
l-nb
1. ama la l-nb wlla l-banan?
2. ama rxs d-dlla wlla l-nb?
3. ama sn d-dlla wlla l-banan?
4. ama la l-nb wlla d-dlla?
5. we l-nb huwa ala fakiha?
6. nu hiya l-fakiha r-rxisa?
Moroccan Wisdom:
l-li ddu l-n, kay-xaf mn l-bl.
The one bitten by a snake is afraid of ropes.
English equivalent: Once bitten, twice shy.
84 Moroccan Arabic
Shopping For Food

shop for produce, meats, and spices
Fruits and Vegetables

nd l-xddar
At the Green Grocers
10
8
9
12
11
14
13
18
19
20
16
17
zucchini
15
vegetables
l-xodra
1. xizu
11. l-ful
2. -iflur
12. l-fjl
3. lquq
13. l-gra
4. l-btata
14. t-tuma
5. l-flfla
15. l-bsla
6. d-dnjal
16. l-barba
7. lxyar
17. l-lft
8. matia
18. l-mkuwr
9. j-jlbana
19. l-lubya
10. l-krafs
20. l-korjit
quince
s-sfrjl
parsley
l-mdnus
gourd
s-slawi
mint
n-nna
okra
l-mluxiya
absinth
-iba
coriander
l-qsbur
verbena
l-lwiza
plum
9
10
13
12
11
14
15
fruit
1. l-nb
l-fakiha
9. n-ngas
2. l-limun
bowid
3. t-tfa
10. t-tut
4. l-friz
11. lavoka
5. l-brquq
12. lananas
6. l-banan
13. d-dlla
7. l-xux
14. blmluk
8. l-amd
15. -hdiya
pomegranate
r-rmman
Japanese plums l-mza
apricots
l-mma
kiwi
l-kiwi
nectarine
86 Moroccan Arabic
Buying Produce
Units of Measurement
scale
l-mizan
gram
gram
kilogram
kilu
kilogram
rubu kilu
kilogram
ns kilu
kilogram
kilu lla rob
2 kilograms
juj kilu
Expressions
Give me a kilo of ...
tini kilu d ...
Weigh me ...
br / wzn liya ...
Give me some ...
tini wiya d ...
More ... please
zidni ... afak
How much is a kilo of ... ?
bal kilu d ... ?
What do you need?
nu xssk?
What else?
nu axor?
I need ...
xssni ...
No, thats enough. Only 1 kilo,

thats all!
lla baraka. ir kilu,

safi!
Dialogue
shopping
t-tqdya
Susan: sba l-xir.

sba l-xir. a b
l-xatr a lalla?
Susan: bit juj kilu d xizu, u
kilu d matia u ns kilu
d l-barba u xtar liya i
aja mzyana. br liya
kilu u rubu d l-bsla.
l-xddar:
l-xddar: safi a lalla?

Susan: bal t-tfa?
l-xddar: stta l drhm l l-kilu.
Susan: waxxa, br liya kilu
lla rob. aah! nsit
tini wiya d l-qsbur
u l-mdnus.
l-xddar: hani a lalla.
Susan: bal kuli?
l-xddar: ndk a lalla ts miya u
sttin ryal.
Susan: al mn drhm?
l-xddar: 48 drhm.
48
Susan: hak a sidi, lla y-awn.

l-xddar: lla y-xlf a lalla.
1. fin Susan?
2. nu rat Susan?
3. al rat mn kul aja?
4. we rat i aja xora?
5. al xllsat?
88 Moroccan Arabic
Spices and Meat

Spices
spices
l-triya
saffron
z-zfran
salt
l-mla
turmeric
l-xrqum
black pepper
l-bzar
hot pepper
l-flfla
ginger
skinjbir
cumin
l-kamun
red hot pepper
s-sudaniya
cinnamon
l-qrfa
cloves
l-qrnfl
oregano
z-ztr
basil
l-bq
nutmeg
l-guza
paprika
t-tmira
l-ara
At the Butchers
butcher
l-gzzar
meat
l-lm
lamb
l-nmi
beef
l-bgri
goat meat
l-mzi
liver
l-kbda
ground meat
l-kfta
meat w/o
bones
l-hbra
chicken
d-djaj
Exercise: You have guests for dinner and you want to serve them tea with cakes, then
a tajine. List the items you need for preparing tea/cakes and a tajine and
write your shopping list. Then, write a shopping list for an American dish.
Food and Drink

use the correct words and expressions concerning food and drink
express likes and dislikes using jb to please
express necessity or obligation with xss to need / to have to
use ba to want / to like with the proper tense
Food and Drink

Food
food
l-makla
fish
l-ut
breakfast
l-ftur
beans
l-lubya
lunch
l-da
lentils
l-ds
dinner
l-a
chick peas
l-mms
tajine
t-tajin
steamed pasta with

cinnamon and sugar
s-sffa
salad
-lada
vermicelli
-riya
French fries
l-frit
Moroccan
soup
l-rira
olives
z-zitun
vegetable
soup
s-suba
bastila
l-bstila
rice
r-ruz
meat
l-lm
couscous
l-ksksu
chicken
d-djaj
pizza
l-ppitza
At a Caf
the waiter
l-garsun
black coffee
qhwa kla
coffee with milk
qhwa lib
half coffee, half milk
qhwa ns ns
hot milk
lib sxun
weak coffee
qhwa xfifa
strong coffee
qhwa qasa
coffee with a little milk
qhwa mhrsa
orange juice
asir l-limun
90 Moroccan Arabic
apple & milk shake
asir t-tfa
banana & milk shake
asir l-banan
almond & milk shake
asir l-luz
pot of tea
brrad d atay
glass of tea
kas d atay
... with mint
... b n-nna
Not very sweet.
ma-y-kun- lu bzzaf.
Some sugar, please.
wiya d s-skkar, afak.
a glass of cold water
kas d l-ma bard.
At a Restaurant
the menu
l-menu
Please bring me ...
afak jib liya ...
Do you have ... ?
we ndkum ... ?
What do you have?
nu ndkum?
Is there any food without meat?
we kayna i makla bla

lm?
I want a tajine without meat.
bit tajin bla lm.
What do you have for dessert?
nu ndkum f d-disir?
We want a table for (four

people).
bina wad t-tbla dyal

(rba d n-nas).
outside
la brra
inside
ldaxl
The bill, please.
l-sab afak.
To your health.
b s-sa.
To your health (response).
lla y-tik s-sa.
How do you like the food?
kif jatk l-makla?
I have no complaints.
ma ndi mangul.
The food is delicious.
l-makla ldida / bnina.
Dialogue
Karla u Jason f r-ristora
l-garsun: t-fddlu! mrbabikum.
Jason: ukran. we kayna i
tbla dyal juj d n-nas?
l-garsun: mlum kayna. fin bitu
t-glsu?
Jason: bina wad t-tbla da
s-srjm.
l-garsun: nu bitu t-aklu?
Karla: nu ndkum?
l-garsun: ha l-menu.
Karla: ana bit lada u ksksu b
l-nmi.
l-garsun: waxxa a lalla. u nta a
sidi?
Jason: ana kan-akul ir l-xdra.
we kayna i makla bla
lm?
l-garsun: iyeh! kayna l-lubya.
Jason: waxxa. jib liya lada u
tbsil d l-lubya.
l-garsun: we bitu t-rbu i
aja?
Karla: ana bit kuka barda.
Jason: ana bit ir l-ma afak.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jason: l-sab afak.
l-garsun: 60 drhm.
60
Jason: hak a sidi.

l-garsun: lla y-xlf. kif jatkum
l-makla?
Karla/Jason: bnina! jbatna bzzaf.
l-garsun: b s-sa u r-raa.
Karla/Jason: lla y-tik s-sa.
1. fin mau Karla u Jason?
2. nu klau?
3. we rbu i aja?
nu rbu?
4. al xlsu?
5. kif jathum l-makla?
92 Moroccan Arabic
The Reflexive verb to please / to like

In Darija, it is not common to say, literally, I like something. Rather, we use the construction,
Something pleases me. In reality, this phrase would translate into the English I like something, but
what is important is that you understand that the person who likes is actually the object of the
sentence, and the thing liked is the subject. At first, it will seem backward; in fact, it is (from an
English speakers perspective). In time you will use this construction naturally.
How to Conjugate to please

The verb to please is jb. It can be tricky to conjugate because, as we said, the subject of the verb is
actually the object that is liked, and the object is the person who likes. Thus, if I want to say, He
likes them, I literally need to say, They please him. Also, as a result of this, the verb must always
agree in gender and number with the subject, that is, the thing liked. In the present
tense, therefore, the conjugation of the verb can be outlined in the following manner:
Introduce Present
Tense
Verb
Root
For Plural
Form Only
jb
kay
(masc. sing.)
kat
(fem. sing.)
kay
(masc/fem plur.)
Object
Pronouns
ni
k
u / h
ha
na
kum
hum
Some examples:
It (masc. sing.) pleases me.
(i.e. I like it.)
kay-jbni
It (fem. sing.) pleases me.

(i.e. I like it.)
kat-jbni
They (masc. plur.) please me.

(i.e. I like them.)
kay-jbuni
They (fem. plur.) please me.

(i.e. I like them.)
kay-jbuni
Present Tense Examples

In the following examples, we use the translation to like. The literal translation would be to please.
jb with masculine singular subject
I like couscous.
kay-jbni ksksu.
I like chocolate.
kay-jbni -klat.
She likes tea.
kay-jbha atay.
We like Morocco.
kay-jbna l-mrib.
He likes tajines.
kay-jbu t-tajin.
jb with feminine singular subject

I like salad.
kat-jbni -lada.
Do you like coffee?
we kat-jbk l-qhwa?
She does not like beer.
ma-kat-jbha- l-birra.
jb with masculine/feminine plural subject

kay-jbuni n-nas d
I like the people of Morocco.
l-mrib.
He likes books.
kay-jbuh l-ktub.
Do you (plur.) like kids?
we kay-jbukum d-drari?
We dont like them.
ma-kay-jbuna-.
Past Tense Examples

The verb jb can also be used in the past tense, as in I liked it or It pleased me. It is conjugated
like all regular verbs in the past tense.
jb with masculine singular subject
I liked dinner.
jbni l-a.
He liked mint tea.
jbu atay b n-nna.
She didnt like fat bread.
ma-jbha- xubz -ma.
Did you like the chicken?
we jbk d-djaj?
jb with feminine singular subject

I liked the soup.
jbatni l-rira.
He didnt like the salad.
ma-jbatu- -lada.
we jbatk l-mdina
l-qdima?
Did you like the old medina?
jb with masculine/feminine plural subject

jbuni n-nas dyal
I liked the people of my village.
d-duwar dyali.
Did you like these books?
we jbuk had l-ktub?
She didnt like the colors.
ma-jbuha- l-luwan.
Followed by Another Verb

jb can be followed by another verb. The second verb is always conjugated in the present, according to
the same rule that you already learned regarding verbs following other verbs (see page 68). Remember
that for the second verb, therefore, we remove the ka ( ) to place it after jb.
I like to sleep after lunch.
kay-jbni n-ns mura

l-da.
He likes to play soccer.
kay-jbu y-lb l-kura.
She doesnt like to wake up

early.
ma-kay-jbha- t-fiq
bkri.
we kay-jbk t-jri
s-sba bkri?
nu kay-jbk t-dir f
l-weekend?
Do you like to run early in the

morning?
What do you like to do on the
weekend?
94 Moroccan Arabic
jb
Exercise: Make correct sentences using 3bj.
3jbk
kat-kbj
we
3jbo
kat-ubj
dyalk?
l-xdma
3jbna
kat-ahbj
3jbni
kat-inbj
iyeh
3jbo
kat-ubj
3jbna
kat-ahbj
dyalu?
dyalha?
bzzaf.
wiya.
jb
Exercise: Make as many sentences (affirmative and negative) as you can with 3bj
using these pictures.
Suzy
Ahmed
Ronny
&
Nancy
Aicha
Moroccan Wisdom:
ma-ri- l-ut f ql l-br.
Dont buy fish on the bottom of the sea.
English equivalent: Dont count your chickens before they hatch.
The Verb to need, to have to, must, should

The verb xss (
) translates into all of the following in English: to need or to have to or must or
should. It is conjugated by adding the object pronouns (see page 55) to the end of the verb. You do
not normally conjugate it like a present tense verb; that is, you do not add kay or kat before the verb.
Like other verbs, however, xss may be followed by a second verb which is conjugated in the present
tense, but without the prefix ka (see page 68). Some examples:
I have to learn Arabic well.
xssni n-tllm l-rbiya

mzyan.
You should be on time.
xssk t-ji f l-wqt.
You shouldnt stay up late.
ma-xssk- t-shr.
I have to go.
xssni n-mi.
The meaning in the above examples depends largely on the context. However, when xss is followed by
a noun, it only means to need. Some examples:
I need cigarettes.
xssni l-garru.
She needs a notebook.
xssha dftar.
The past tense of xss is formed by adding the verb kan before it. You do not conjugate kan if xss is
followed by another verb. If xss is followed by a noun, however, kan must agree in gender and
number with that noun. Examples:
I had to study yesterday.
kan xssni n-qra l-bar.
I needed a book.
kan xssni ktab.
I needed a ticket.
kant xssni wrqa.
I needed books.
kanu xssni ktub.
Exercise: Write the expressions that go along with these signs using the verb xss.
Exercise: Answer the following question in Moroccan Arabic.

nu xssk ba t-kun mutatawwi naj?
96 Moroccan Arabic
The Verb to want, to like

The verb ba translates into the English to want and to like. When conjugated in the past tense,
the verb expresses to want, but with a present tense meaning (see page 36). When conjugated in the
present tense, the verb expresses to like, also with a present tense meaning. An example:
I like mint tea.
kan-bi atay b n-nna.
When the verb is used with object pronouns (see page 55) in the present tense, it means to love or to
like someone. Examples:
I love you / I like you.
kan-bik.
I love him / I like him.
kan-bih.
I love her / I like her.
kan-biha.
When this verb is followed by another verb, the second verb is always conjugated in the present tense
without the prefix ka (see page 68). Some examples:
I like to drink coffee in the
morning.
kan-bi n-rb l-qhwa f

s-sba.
He likes to read at night.
kay-bi y-qra b l-lil.
Because the past tense of ba expresses a present tense meaning of to want, to express a past tense
meaning of to want, you must first use a past tense conjugated form of the verb kan, followed by the
past tense form of ba. Examples:
I wanted to leave early.
knt bit n-xrj bkri.
She wanted to tell him

something.
kant bat t-gul lih i

aja.
Exercise: For each meal, write at least three sentences in which you express Moroccan
food you like or dislike for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
l-da
l-ftur
1. kan-bi l-bid f
l-ftur
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.
l-a
1.
2.
3.
Medical & Body

describe, in Darija, body parts and common illnesses
Body Parts
18
19
24
23
22
20
21
28
8
10
29
26
27
25
12
9
11
13
14
15
16
17
1. wjh
16. rjl
2. fmm
17. sb
3. lya
18. r
4. nq
19. jbha
5. ktf
20. wdn
6. sdr
21. nk
7. dra
22. nif
8. mrfq
23. in
9. ydd
24. jban
10. sb
25. snan
11. dfr
26. lsan
12. kr
27. nayf
13. fxd
28. musta
14. rkba
29. lya
15. gdm
breast
bzzula
98 Moroccan Arabic
Health Problems
Whats wrong with you?
nu ndk?
Whats the matter?
malek?
What ails you?
ba mrid?
What aches?
nu kay-drk?
I have a fever
fiya s-sxana.
I have a cold.
fiya rwa / drbni l-brd.
I have a sore throat.
fiya l-laqm.
Im constipated.
ndi l-qbt / kri qasa.
Im allergic to...
ndi l-asasiya d . . .
. . . kay-dir/kat-dir
liya l-asasiya.
I have a headache.
kay-drni rasi.
My ear aches.
kat-drni wdni.
I feel dizzy.
kan-s b d-duxa.
Im injured.
tjrt.
Im burnt.
trqt.
I have a toothache.
kat-drni wad d-drsa.
My ... hurts.
kay-drni ...
I vomit / throw up.
kan-tqiya.
I need to see a doctor.
xssni n-uf t-tbib.
Dialogue
Latifa: malek, yak labas?
Amy: kay-drni kri.
Latifa: we fik luj bzzaf?
Amy: ay, bzzaf!
Latifa: sbri wya, adi n-tbx
lik wad l-kas d
z-ztr, dqqa btla!
Amy: lla lla afak, ma-ymkn-
liya n-rb l-ub.
Latifa: waxxa, kifa ymkn liya
n-awnk?
Amy: ttasli afak b had
r-raqm d hay'at s-salam
ba y-iytu liya.
Latifa: hiya l-luwla, ma-y-kun
bas.
Amy: ahla y-wrrik i bas.
1. ba mrida Amy?
2. we tatha Latifa i dwa?
3. la ma-bat- Amy t-rb l-ub?
4. we mat Amy nd t-tbib? la?
Exercise: What might you say if you were the person in each picture?
100 Moroccan Arabic
Site Visit Expressions

Here are some useful expressions you may need during your site visit.
My name is ... I am a volunteer
with Peace Corps.
smiti ... ana mutatawwi

ma hay'at s-salam.
I will be working here for two

years at ...
adi n-xdm hna amayn f

...
Im going to spend two days

with you (to host family).
adi n-gls makum yumayn.
Where is the youth center?
fin kayna dar -bab?
Where is the hospital /

delegation?
fin kayn s-sbitar /

l-mndubiya?
What is the name of the chief

doctor?
nu smit l-midsan ef
afak?
Where is the agriculture office?
fin kayn mktb l-filaa

afak?
Where is the water and forest

office?
fin kayn mktb l-miyah u

l-abat?
Where is the handicraft

center?
fin kayna lartizana /

s-sinaa t-tqlidiya
afak?
Where is the post office?
fin kayna l-bosta?
Please, I want to open a post

box.
lla y-xllik, bit n-ft

bwat ppostal.
What do I have to do?
nu xssni n-dir?
How much do I have to pay (a

year)?
Where is the bank, please?
al xssni n-xls
(l l-am)?
fin kayna l-banka afak?
(l-bnk -bi)
I want to open a bank account.
bit n-ft kont bonkir.
Where is the Gendarme / police

station, please?
fin j-jondarm /
l-kumisariya, afak?
Can you please give me your

phone number, please? (at
Gendarme / police station)
we ymkn lik t-tini rqm

t-tilifun dyalkum,
afak?
I want to get a cart de sejour.
bit n-sawb la-kart d

sijur.
Is there a pharmacy here?
we kayn i frmasyan hna?
Is there a teleboutique here?
we kayn i tilibutik hna?
Do you sell cell phone cards?
we kat-bi la-kart d
l-pportabl?
Which service is available here:

Meditel or Maroc Telecom?
we kayna Meditel wlla

Maroc Telecom?
Is there cell phone reception /

coverage?
we kayn r-rizo?
Is there CTM (the bus

company)?
we kayn s-satyam?
What day/time is transportation

available?
amn nhar/wqt kay-kun

l-mrkub?
Is there a cyber caf here?
we kayna l-anternet hna?
How far is it from here?
al bida mn hna?
Which day is the souk?
amn nhar kay-kun s-suq?
Is there any association here?
we kayna i jmiya hna?
Ask your LCF for any other words or expressions you think you may need for site visit.
Moroccan Wisdom:
nqta b nqta kay-ml l-wad.
Drop by drop the river rises.
English equivalent: Rome wasnt built in a day.
102 Moroccan Arabic
Travel
describe future activities
identify means of transportation and use appropriate expressions for travel
Future Tense
Depending upon where you are in Morocco, people may form the future tense differently. Everyone in
Morocco, however, should understand you regardless of which way you form the future tense.
Forming the Future Tense

To form the future tense, take the present tense form, drop the prefix ka, and add adi. Thus:
to travel
safr
I will travel
adi n-safr
you will travel (masc. sing.)
adi t-safr
you will travel (fem. sing.)
adi t-safri
he will travel
adi y-safr
she will travel
adi t-safr
we will travel
adi n-safru
you will travel (plur.)
adi t-safru
they will travel
adi y-safru
In some places, adi is also used with a feminine form, adya, and a plural form, adyin. In this
case, the future tense would be as follows:
to travel
safr
I will travel (masc.)
adi n-safr
I will travel (fem.)
adya n-safr
adi t-safr
adya t-safri
he will travel
adi y-safr
she will travel
adya t-safr
we will travel
adyin n-safru
adyin t-safru
they will travel
adyin y-safru

Sometimes, adi is contracted to a. The future tense in this case:
to travel
safr
I will travel
an-safr
at-safr
at-safri
he will travel
ay-safr
she will travel
at-safr
we will travel
an-safru
at-safru
they will travel
ay-safru
Negation of the Future Tense

To form the negative of the future tense, add ma... (
) to adi, adya, or adyin.
Will you travel?
we adi t-safr?
No, I will not travel.
lla, ma-adi- n-safr.
To express will never, we do not use the future tense, but rather ma mmr (
tense of a verb without the prefix ka.
I will never smoke.
ma mmri n-kmi.
We will never travel at night.
ma mmrna n-safru b
l-lil.
To express not yet when speaking about the future, use mazal ma (
the future tense.
We will not go to bed yet.
mazal ma adyin n-nsu.
I will not get married yet.
baqi ma adi n-tzuwj.
) and the present
) or baqi ma (
) with
For the remainder of the book, all of the different forms of the future tense will be used
in order for you to become familiar with all of them.
104 Moroccan Arabic
Using the Participle adi to Mean Going

In English, we have two ways of expressing the future.
I will speak to him tomorrow.
I am going to speak to him tomorrow.
Both of these ways of expressing the future are expressed by the future tense in Moroccan Arabic. In
the following examples, therefore, both English translations can be given for the Arabic expressions.
What will I wear?
What am I going to wear?
nu adi n-lbs?
I will sleep.
I am going to sleep.
adi n-ns.
When the word adi is preceded by the conjugated past tense of the verb kan, to be, it indicates a
past intention or a past future. Some examples:
He was going to travel to
America, but he didnt have a
visa. (i.e. he had intended...)
kan adi y-safr l mirikan

welakin
ma-kan- ndu l-viza.
She was going to marry last

year. (i.e. she had planned...)
kant adya t-tzuwj l-am

l-li fat.
The use of adi to indicate future or past future should be distinguished from its use as a participle to
indicating that someone is literally going somewhere at the present moment (or was going at a past
moment). In other words, besides its role as an auxiliary verb to indicate future, adi also acts as the
active participle of the verb ma, to go. Thus, ma is used only to express a habitual action when it
is conjugated in the present tense. To express a current action, the participle adi is used.
I go to souk on Tuesdays.
(habitual)
kan-mi l s-suq nhar

t-tlat.
I am going to souk. (now)
ana adi l s-suq.
Where do you go every

weekend? (habitual)
fin kat-mi kul weekend?
Where are you going? (now)
fin adi?
This idea of a current, progressive action may also be expressed in the past, and should be
distinguished, again, from the idea of past intention or past future that was discussed above.
He was going to travel to
America, but he didnt have a
visa. (past intention)
kan adi y-safr l

mirikan welakin
ma-kan- ndu l-viza.
He was going to souk when he

saw his friend. (past
progressive action)
kan adi l s-suq mlli

af sabu.
I was not going to lie to you!

(negative past intention)
ma-knt- adi n-kdb

lik!
I was not going to souk!

(negative past progressive
action)
ma-knt- adi l s-suq!
Time Expressions
tomorrow
dda
day after tomorrow
bd dda
tomorrow morning
dda f s-sba
tomorrow afternoon/evening
dda f l-iya
next Saturday
s-sbt j-jay / l-maji
next week
s-simana j-jaya / l-majya
next month
-hr j-jay / l-maji
next year
l-am j-jay / l-maji
next summer
s-sif j-jay / l-maji
in a week / month / year
mn hna simana / hr / am
one day / some day
wad nhar / i nhar
after lunch / dinner
mn bd l-da / l-a
Some examples of the future tense using time expressions:

Are you going to go to the
cinema in the evening?
we adi t-mi l
s-sinima f l-iya?
No, Im not going to go. Im

going to sleep a little bit.
lla, ma-adi- n-mi.

adi n-ns wiya.
mn bd l-a, adi
n-qra l-ktab dyali.
i nhar, adya n-tkllm
l-rbiya mzyan.
After dinner, Ill read my book.

Someday, I (fem.) will speak
Arabic well.
Exercise: Put the verbs in parentheses in the future tense.

Zahra: fuqa (nad) dda?
Chad: (faq) f 7:00.
7:00
Zahra: nu (dar) mn bd?

Chad: (ftr) u (xrj).
Zahra: fin (ma) mn bd?
Chad: (ma) l l-xdma dyali f
12:00. (tdda) ma sabi
Tom f mtm s-salam. mn
bd (rj )l d-dar. f 3:00
wiya l-rbiya ma
l-ustad dyali.
Zahra: we (ja) (ta) mana
dda inallah?
Chad: waxxa! n-ufkum dda
inallah.
12:00
3:00
106 Moroccan Arabic
Dialogue
Mohamed: fuqa adya t-mi l
l-fla?
Karla: ltnin f t-tmnya u ns.
Mohamed: amn wqt adya t-tlaqay
l-ustad dyalk?
Karla: t-tlat f j-juj u tulut.
Mohamed: fuqa adia t-ufi
l-film?
Karla: larb f t-tsud u rb.
Mohamed: fuqa adya t-lbi
t-tinis?
Karla: l-xmis f r-rba lla rub.
Mohamed: imta adya t-ufi
t-tbib?
Karla: j-jma f l-da nian.
Mohamed: imta adya t-tqday?
Karla: s-sbt f l-xmsa ql xmsa.
Mohamed: amn wqt adi y-xrj
t-tran fa adya
t-rkbi?
Karla: l-dd f l-ra ql
qsmayn.
Exercise: Read the dialogue again quickly and write down Karlas plan for the week
(write down the times using numbers, not words). Then, write your own
schedule for the upcoming week. What will you be doing each day? At
what time?
Travel
General Travel Information
Public transport in Morocco is both inexpensive and easy to use. Between major cities, trains are the
quickest and most comfortable means of travel, although they can be crowded at certain times of year.
Buses are the cheapest choice and can vary in terms of speed and comfort.
Traveling Between Cities
CTM: This is the national bus line, very comfortable, on schedule, seats are reserved and can be
purchased in advance in most places. Unaccompanied baggage can be sent via CTM.
Souk buses: In each large town there is a bus station, such as Quamra in Rabat. One can buy a ticket
one day in advance and fares are set. Sometimes the ticket is for a reserved seat, other times it is for
whatever seat is open when the bus goes through town. A ticket does not necessarily mean there is a
real seat either. Sometimes there are additional places set-up in the aisle. You have to bargain for the
price you pay for your luggage if this gets stored on top of the bus. The price depends upon the size of
the piece. It is advisable to carry smaller pieces of luggage you can store in the bus itself. Souk buses
do not always leave or arrive on time. They may stop in the middle of nowhere. They may also stop in
towns along the way looking for additional passengers.

Train: There are two classes: first and second. The price of any train car with air conditioning will be
higher. Sometimes there are schedule changes, but no available printed timetables. Check to be sure
that the time you wish to travel is still accurate. Train tickets can be bought in advance, and this is the
only form of local transportation on which you can buy a round-trip ticket.
Grand taxis: This is for travel between large towns and cities. They carry 6 passengers and since the
fare is per seat, if you want you can pay for empty seats so that the taxi leaves earlier. Ask the other
passengers in the car what the regular fare should be, do not ask the driver first. If you want to take the
entire taxi for yourself, ask for a taxi coursa. Baggage does not cost extra in a taxi.
Pick-up truck (camio): In some areas where no public transportation is available, people use their
personal trucks to carry supplies to their douars, they also take passengers at a rate that they determine
themselves.
Airport transportation: There are airport buses and trains which run from Rabat Ville to the
Casablanca airport. There are also airport buses which connect the airport to Casablanca but from
Rabat/Sale airport there are only taxis.
Travel Within Cities
Petit taxis: Every city has petit taxis which can carry up to three passengers. The fare is calculated by
meter. When you get in the taxi, ask that the meter be turned on. If there is no meter, or if it does not
work, ask the price before you begin. Since the taxi can take 3 passengers, if you are the only one
getting in, he can pick up other passengers. If you are the second or third person entering the taxi, ask
the price for your trip. At night (usually by 8 pm) until sunrise, the fare is 50% more than the daytime
fare.
Chariots: In very small villages, the chariots are used to get people to the weekly souk or to towns on
the main road, where larger transportation is available for farther distances.
Travel Expressions
taxi
t-taxi
Where is the taxi stand?
fin blasa t-taxiyat?
Please take me to...
wsslni afak l...
I want to go to this address.
bit n-mi l had

l-unwan.
Please wait a minute for me.
tsnnani afak wiya.
How much, please?
al afak?
Turn on the meter, please.
xddm l-kuntur afak.
Stop here, please.
wqf hna afak.
small taxi (petit taxi, inside city)
taxi sir
large taxi (grand taxi, b/w cities)
taxi kbir
Is there a seat to ...
we kayna i blasa l...
Yes, there is.
iyeh, kayna.
How many seats are reserved

so far?
al mn blasa kayna
deba?
Four and you are the fifth.
rba u nti l-xamsa.
I want to pay for 2 seats.
bit n-xlls juj blays.
108 Moroccan Arabic
taxi driver
mul taxi
taxi driver
-ifur d taxi
baggage
l-bagaj
trunk
l-kufr
city bus
t-tobis
city bus depot / stop
mattat t-tobisat
Where does bus #... stop?
fin kay-wqf t-tobis

rqm...?
Does bus #... stop here?
we kay-wqf t-tobis
rqm... hna?
Does this bus go by ... ?
we had t-tobis kay-duz

la...?
Which bus do I need to take if I

want to go to ... ?
amn tobis xssni n-axud

ila bit n-mi l...?
Can you stop here?
we ymkn lik t-wqf hna?
last stop / terminus
t-tirminus
driver
-ifur
ticket taker
r-rusuvur
bus (between cities)
l-kar
bus station
mattat l-kiran
Which bus is going to ... ?
amn kar adi l...?
When does the bus leave to ... ?
fuqa kay-xrj l-kar

l...?
When does the bus arrive to ...?
fuqa kay-wsl l-kar

l...?
I want a ticket to ...
bit wad l-wrqa l...?
How much is the ticket to ... ?
bal l-wrqa l...?
I want to keep my bag with me.
bit n-dir s-sak dyali

daya.
Tell me when we arrive to ...
afak ila wslna l...

gulha liya.
driver
-ifur
drivers assistant
l-grisun
How long will you stop here?
al adi t-bqa hna?
Is this seat empty?
we had l-blasa xawya?
train
t-tran / l-qitar
train station
lagar / mattat l-qitar
Is there a train to ...
we kayn i tran l...?
Where do they sell the tickets,

please?
fin kay-qtu l-wraq

afak?
Can I reserve a sleeper car to

Oujda?
we ymkn liya n-rizirvi

kuit l wjda?
I want to keep the ticket.
bit n-tafd b l-wrqa.
Dialogue
nu adya t-diri?
Doha: nu adya t-diri
s-simana j-jaya?
Jill: adya n-safr l
Marrakech.
Doha: fa adya t-mi?
Jill: f t-tran wlla f s-satyam
(CTM).
Doha: fuqa adya t-xrji mn
Rabat?
Jill: adya n-xrj f t-tmnya u
ns d s-sba.
Doha: fin adya t-glsi f
Marrakech?
Jill: f lotil.
Doha: nu adya t-diri tmma?
Jill: adya n-tsara: adya
n-mi l jam l-fna u qsr
l-bdi...
Doha: iwa, triq s-slama.
Jill: lla y-slmk.
1. nu bat t-dir Jill?
2. we adya t-mi l Fes?
3. we adya t-mi f l-kar?
4. fin adya t-gls?
5. fin kayna jam l-fna?
110 Moroccan Arabic
At the Hotel
look for and use hotel accommodation
use conditional sentences to express possible and impossible conditions
Hotel Accommodation
Hotels are classified into categories from 0 (non-classified) to 5-star hotels. There is a reduction of
25% on the second day for Moroccans and foreign residents in Morocco, but only in classified hotels.

the hotel
lotil
the reception desk
larisipsyun
room
bit / ambr
Is there an inexpensive hotel

around here?
we kayn i otil rxis hna?
Where is a nice hotel?
fin kayn i otil mzyan?
Please take me to a hotel (to a

taxi driver).
wsslni l i otil afak.
A room for one person (a

single).
bit dyal fra wad.
A room for two people.
bit dyal juj d n-nas.
Do you have a room available?
we ndkum i bit xawi?
Is there a shower with hot

water?
we kayn d-du b l-ma

s-sxun?
Whats the price for the room?
al t-taman dyal l-bit?
Can I see the room?
we ymkn liya n-uf l-bit?
Which floor?
amn tbqa?
Is breakfast included?
we l-ftur msub ma
l-bit?
Ill stay for 2 nights.
adi n-gls juj lilat.
Wake me up at ... please.
fiyqni f ... afak
Dialogue
Jack u Amanda f lotil
Jack u Amanda: s-salamu alaykum
mul lotil: wa alaykum s-salam
Jack: we kayn i ambr?
mul lotil: iyeh, kayn dyal fra
wad kbir u kayn dyal
juj fraat.

Jack: bina dyal fra wad u
fih l-mmam.
mul lotil: mrba.
Jack: bal lila wda?
mul lotil: 140 drhm.
140
Amanda: we l-ma sxun?

mul lotil: iyeh a lalla.
Amanda: waxxa. tina ambr.
mul lotil: mmru had l-wraq,
afakum. ktbu liha
s-smya, l-unwan, u rqm
l-paspor.
Jack: tfdl a sidi.
mul lotil: ukran, ha s-sarut dyal
l-bit. 156 f t-tbqa
l-luwla.
156
1. fin ma Jack u Amanda?
2. al mn bit bau?
3. al t-taman dyal l-bit?
4. we rxis had lotil?
5. nu xsshum y-diru ba y-glsu

f had lotil?
The Conditional
There are two basic types of conditional sentences in Moroccan Arabic depending on whether the if
clause represents a possible condition or a contrary-to-fact/impossible condition.
Type I Conditional: A Possible Condition in the Present/Future

The word ila ( ) is equivalent to the English if. It introduces a possible condition only. This type of
conditional sentence is composed of the simple past plus the future, or sometimes the simple past plus
the imperative. This is used in the same context as English to express a future probable condition.
If he comes tomorrow, tell him to ila ja dda, gul lih
call me.
y-iyt liya.
ila ma-jit- f l-wqt,
If I dont come on time, go
sir.
without me.
ila ftu, adi n-gulha
If I see him, Ill tell (it to) him.
lih.
ila kmmlat l-xdma f
If she finishes the work on time,
l-wqt, adi n-tiuha
well give her some money.
l-flus.
If you ask her for it, shell give it ila tlbtiha mnha (adi)
to you.
t-tiha lik.
If you go to the post office bring
me two stamps.
ila miti l l-bosta, jib

liya juj tnabr.
112 Moroccan Arabic

1. ila huma (tlb) mnk l-flus,
(ma) mahum l l-banka.
2. ila ana (safr), (jab) kadu.
3. ila nta ma (lqa) {huma} f d-dar,

(iyt) liya.
4. ila ana (xsr), ma-ymkn- liya
(sift) liha l-flus.
5. ila nta (ja) ndi,
ana (ta) {nta} t-tsawr.
3
4
5
Type II Conditional: An Impossible Condition in the Past/Present

The word kun ( ) is used in the second type of conditional. It also is equivalent to the English if.
This word introduces two different types of contrary-to-fact conditionals. The first kind refers to past
circumstances which did not occur. For example, if we had worked, which implies that we did not
work. The second refers to present but unreal circumstances. For example, if I were rich, which
implies that I am not rich. General context is the decisive factor in determining whether present or
past contrary-to-fact conditions are referred to.
If I had the money, Id go with
you.
kun kanu ndi l-flus,

kun mit makum.
If someone had told me, I would

have come to see you.
kun i wad galha liya,

kun jit n-ufk.
If he were working here, I would

have told you.
kun kan kay-xdm hna,

kun gltha lik.
If it hadnt been for me, he would kun ma-knt- ana,

kun rq.
have drowned.
If it were not for her, we wouldnt kun ma-kant- hiya,
kun ma-knna- n-aklu.
be eating.
Exercise: Substitute ila with kun and make the necessary changes.
1. ila safrt, adi n-gls f lotil.
2. ila miti l Marrakech,
zur jam l-fna.
3. ila nsiti, an-fkkrk.
4. ila kant ms nhar l-dd j-jay,

an-miu l l-br.
5. ila tlmti l-rbiya mzyan,
adi t-kun mutatawwi naj.
6. ila ma-tarmti- qanun s-sayr,
adi t-jibha f rask.
4
5
6
At the Post Office

buy stamps and send letters and parcels
use prepositions correctly with verbs
The Post Office

Stamps are available at tobacco stores in addition to the post office. It is best to mail your letters at the
mail slot outside the post office since pick-ups can be infrequent at other mail boxes. When sending
packages out of the country, you are required to fill out a customs declaration form. Be sure to leave
the package open because an official is required to see the contents before it is sealed.
Vocabulary
post office
ladrisa
l-bosta
address
envelope
jwa
l-unwan
letter
bra
post card
stamp
tanbr
money order l-manda
stamps
tnabr
package
kulya
registered
letter
bra rikomandi
normal
adi
postman
l-faktur
express
ixpres
post box
bwat ppostal
customs
d-diwana
box (for a
package)
kartona
tape
s-skot
glue
lsaq
kart ppostal
Verbs
to send
sift
to close / seal
dd
to paste
lssq
to receive
twssl b
to fill in (a form)
mmr
Expressions
I want a stamp for the US /
Morocco please.
bit wad t-tanbr dyal

mirikan / l-mrib afak.
I want to send this letter / this

package.
bit n-sift had l-bra /

had l-kulya.
How much will I pay to send

this...?
bal adi n-sift had

... ?
How much time will it take for it

to arrive to ... ?
al d l-wqt kay-xs ba
t-wsl l ... ?
la l-brawat
ma-kay-wslu- diya.
Why dont letters arrive quickly?
114 Moroccan Arabic
Dialogue
f l-bosta
Judy: bit t-tnabr, lla
y-xllik.
l-muwddaf: fin adya t-sifti
l-brawat?
Judy: bit n-sift wda adiya
l mirikan u wda
rikumandi hna f l-mrib.
l-muwddaf: waxxa a lalla, ndk
22.50 drhm.
Paul: ana bit n-sift kulya l
mirikan.
22.50
l-muwddaf: ara n-uf nu fiha.

Paul: hak a sidi.
l-muwddaf: mmr had l-mtbu afak.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
l-muwddaf: we t-siftha adi wlla
ixpres?
Paul: ir adi afak.
l-muwddaf: waxxa a sidi, ndk 250
drhm.
Paul & Judy: ukran,
250
bslama.
l-muwddaf: lla y-awn.

1. nu kat-dir Judy f l-bosta?
2. we bat t-sift l-brawat ixpres?
3. nu ba y-sift Paul?
4. nu xssu y-dir?
Exercise: Make as many sentences as you can using the following words. You may
need to add some of your own words.
mit
bau
ra
manda
ma
bina
af
kulya
bit
xda
tnabr
mina
bat
sift
mirikan
mau
ba
srf
mitu
bitu
bwat
ppostal
mat
l l-bosta la qqa
Using Prepositions with Pronoun Endings & Verbs

Learning how to use prepositions correctly can sometimes be tricky. First, the prepositions dont
always correspond directly to English prepositions . Thus, at different times in Moroccan Arabic we
will use different prepositions for what would be the same preposition in English. Second, prepositions
sometimes change in meaning depending upon the verb they are used with. This is true in English, too:
She spoke on the rights of homeless people. (on means on the subject of)
I put the book on the table. (on means on top of)
With these challenges, it may take awhile for you to be a master of Darija prepositions. But with
continued use and exposure, they will become natural for you, just as greetings are now natural for you.
In this section, we will look at two aspects of prepositions: 1. how to connect prepositions with pronoun
endings, and 2. which verbs use certain prepositions.
Some prepositions you have already learned (such as dyal) simply add the normal pronoun endings
(ex. dyali, dyalk, etc.). The following prepositions, however, change slightly when pronoun endings
are added:
to / for
on / about
la
with
ma
in / at / about
with / by
The Preposition l
The preposition l ( ) often means to (ex. I gave something to you) or for (ex. I did something for
you). It may also be used with certain verbs simply to express the meaning of the verb; in these cases, it
doesnt translate into anything in English. To add the pronoun endings:
to / for
to / for me
liya / li
to / for you (sing.)
lik
to / for him
lih / lu
to / for her
liha
to / for us
lina
to / for you (plur.)
likum
to / for them
lihum
Some verbs that go with this preposition:

excuse
sm l
send (to)
sift (l)
explain (to)
fssr (l)
bring (to)
jab (l)
say (to)
gal (l)
to be possible (for...)
ymkn (l)
116 Moroccan Arabic

Some examples:
Kristin sent a letter to Chad.
Kristin siftat bra

l Chad.
Kristin sent a letter to him.
Kristin siftat bra lih.
Thomas bought a present for

Jessica on her birthday.
Thomas ra wad l-kadu

l Jessica f id l-milad
dyalha.
Thomas bought it for her.
Thomas rah liha.
Excuse me.
sm liya.
we ymkn liya n-hdr

mak?
I cant (i.e. it is not possible for me) go out ma-ymkn- liya n-xrj
deba.
now.
Can I (i.e. is it possible for me) talk with
you?
As you can see in the example Excuse me above, sometimes the Arabic verb requires the preposition
in order to be equivalent to the English verb. In these cases, the English translation doesnt have a
preposition, but the Arabic still requires it.
The Preposition la
The preposition la is used with many verbs and expressions, and as a result it translates into many
English prepositions, including: on, about, to, at, and others. With pronoun endings:
on (and others)
la
on me
liya
on you (sing.)
lik
on him
lih
on her
liha
on us
lina
on you (plur.)
likum
on them
lihum

defend
daf la
lie (to)
kdb (la)
look/search
(for)
qllb (la)
laugh (at)
dk (la)
speak (about)
tkllm (la)
to love (i.e. to
be dying for)
mat (la)
In the first verb, defend, the preposition la does not have an English translation since it is required
in order to translate the Arabic verb into defend. In the second verb, look/search, however, the
preposition la is basically equivalent to the English for. Some examples:
Did we talk about the role of

Peace Corps in Morocco?
we tkllmna la d-dawr
dyal hay'at s-salam f
l-mrib?
Yes, we talked about it.
iyeh, tkllmna lih.
Are you looking for a house to

rent?
we kat-qllb la dar l
l-kra?
Yes, Im looking for one.
iyeh, kan-qllb liha.
I love (am dying for) pizza.
kan-mut la l-pitza.
I love it.
kan-mut liha
Dont lie to me.
ma-tkdb- liya.
Hes laughing at me.
kay-dk liya.
The Preposition ma
The preposition ma almost always translates into the English with. With pronouns:
with
ma
with me
maya
with you (sing.)
mak
with him
mah
with her
maha
with us
mana
with you (plur.)
makum
with them
mahum

laugh (with)
dk (ma)
meet (with)
tlaqa (ma)
be helpful
(with)
tawn (ma)
stay (with)
bqa (ma)
shake hands
(with)
tsalm (ma)
argue (with)
txasm (ma)
Some examples:
I met (with) Samir in the post
office.
tlaqit ma Samir f
l-bosta.
I met (with) him in the post

office.
tlaqit mah f l-bosta.
Im just kidding! (with you)
ir kan-dk mak!
Would you like to come to the

movies with me?
biti t-mi l s-sinima

maya?
118 Moroccan Arabic
The Preposition f
Like la, the preposition f has many different English translations, including: in, about, at, on,
and others. When used with pronouns:
in
in me
fiya
in you (sing.)
fik
in him
fih
in her
fiha
in us
fina
in you (plur.)
fikum
in them
fihum

ask (about)
suwl (f)
participate (in)
ark (f)
think (about)
fkkr (f)
take care (of)
thlla (f)
talk (about) a
person
hdr (f)
trust (in)
taq (f)
Some examples:
I came over (asked about you)
yesterday, but I didnt find you.
suwlt fik l-bar,

welakin ma-lqitk-.
We trusted (in) him, but he

betrayed us.
tqna fih, u dr bina.
Take care of yourself.
thlla f rask.
This preposition, with pronouns, can also have the meaning of the verb to be.
I am hungry.
fiya j-ju.
I am thirsty.
fiya l-t.
He has a fever.
fih s-sxana.
And sometimes it takes the meaning of to have in the expression to have in it/them.
This house has five rooms.
had d-dar fiha xmsa d

l-byut.
The Preposition b
The preposition b usually has the meaning of with (I eat with my hands), but can also be used for:
by, in, about, for, and others. With pronouns:
with
with me
biya
with you (sing.)
bik
with him
bih
with her
biha
with us
bina
with you (plur.)
bikum
with them
bihum

believe (in)
amn (b)
marry (with)
tzuwj (b)
dream (about)
lm (b)
welcome
rb b
be responsible
(for)
tkllf (b)
want to be sepasxa (b)

rated (from)
Some examples:
She married (with) him last year.
tzuwjat bih l-am l-li fat.
They welcomed me into their house.
rbu biya f darhum.
I dreamed about him.
lmt bih.
Exercise: Replace the underlined nouns with the corresponding pronouns.

Sometimes you will need to use a preposition and pronoun together.
Example: l-qt kla l-ut. l-qt klah.
1. Tony rb l-lib.
2. Ahmed ra tumubil.
3. l-mutatawwiin mau l s-suq.
4. Latifa ddat d-drari l l-mdrasa.
5. we nsiti l-magana f d-dar?
6. Greg ta l-flus l Amy.
7. d-drari safru ma sabhum.
8. Sara ma-kat-akul- l-lm.
9. sllm la mwalin d-dar.
10. Jerry kay-xaf mn Tom.
Exercise: Make all of the above verb forms negative.
10
120 Moroccan Arabic
Describing the Peace Corps Mission

talk about the three goals of Peace Corps
describe your job in Morocco
Peace Corps
Text
nu hiya hay'at s-salam?
hay'at s-salam munddama amrikiya
kat-sift mutatawwiin l d-duwal
n-namiya u l-ahdaf dyalha hiya:
1. t-tawn t-tiqni
2. l-mirikanin y-fhmu mzyan -uub
l-li stadfathum u y-rrfu b dik
-uub f mirikan
3. -uub l-mustadifa tta hiya
t-trrf la l-mirikaniyin.

organization
munddama
developing nations
d-duwal n-namiya
goals
ahdaf
technical help
t-tawn t-tiqni
peoples
-uub
to host
stadf
to inform
rrf
host (adjective)
mustadif(a)
The Three Goals Of The Peace Corps

1. To help people of interested countries
and areas in meeting their needs for
trained men and women;
2. To help promote a better
understanding of the American people
on the part of the peoples served;
3. To help promote a better
understanding of other peoples on the
part of the American people.
1
2
Youth Development
Dialogue
Susan: s-salamu alaykum.
Jamila: wa alaykum s-salam.
al hadi u nti f
l-mrib?
Susan: amayn u adya n-gls hna
amayn wlla tlt snin
inallah.
Jamila: nu kat-diri?
Susan: ana mutatawwia ma
hay'at s-salam u an-xdm
f dar -bab.
Jamila: nu at-diri b d-dbt?
Susan: adya n-qrri n-ngliziya
u adya n-dir maari
ma j-jmiyat u ay aja
l-li ndha alaqa ma
tnmiyat -bab.
Jamila: iwa tbark lla lik
a lalla.
Susan: lla y-bark fik.

youth development
tnmiyat -bab
youth center
dar -bab
exactly
b d-dbt
relationship
alaqa
project*
mru
association
jamiya
projects
maari
associations
jamiyat
activity*
naat
director
mudir
activities
anita
anything
ay aja
* In Morocco, the word for project suggests to some Moroccans an undertaking that requires money.
The word for activity does not have this connotation. You will often be safer, therefore, using the
word for activity, since most of what you do will not based upon major grants or fundraising.
122 Moroccan Arabic
Environment
Text
smiti Judy. ana kan-xdm ma brnamaj
l-bi'a d hay'at s-salam. l-muhima
dyali hiya n-uf kifa n-nas
kay-tamlu ma t-tabia. kan-gul l
n-nas u t-turis l-li kay-zuru lipark
ba ma-y-luu- z-zbl f ay blasa. u
y-afdu la l-bi'a mn t-talawut.
u ba n-nas ma-y-qtu- -jr u
y-afdu la l-aba. kan-awl n-uf
mahum i turuq xora ba y-tiybu u
ma-y-sthlku- bzzaf d l-tb u
kan-dir maari ma j-jamiyat f
majal l-muafada l l-bi'a u
t-tnmiyat l l-umum.

l-bi'a
environment
program
brnamj
forest
aba
to deal (with)
taml (ma)
ways
turuq
nature
tabia
firewood
l-tb
trash
z-zbl
field / domain
majal
to protect
afd la
in general
l l-umum
pollution
t-tulwut
to cut
qt
trees
-jr
to consume
sthlk
Health
Dialogue
Sumiya: s-salamu alaykum.
Christine: wa alaykum s-salam.
Sumiya: ftk l-bar f s-sbitar.
we nti frmliya?
Christine: lla mai frmliya u mai
tbiba.
Sumiya: nu xdmtk?
Christine: kan-tkllm ma n-nas la
sthum u st wladhum.
Sumiya: we kat-tihum d-dwa?
Christine: ma-kan-tihum- d-dwa u
ma-kan-dir- libra.
kan-gul l n-nas nu xsshum
y-diru ba ma-y-mrdu-
huma wlla wladhum. u
kan-hdr mahum la
l-'ahammiya dyal d-dwa d
l-bir, u bit l-ma u sil
l-yddin u d-dwa d l-kr.
Sumiya: mzyan. had -i muhim. u
sabtk nu kat-dir?
Christine: kat-gul lihum y-jlbu l
wladhum ba ma-y-mrdu- u
kat-r lihum nu xsshum
y-diru ila ma-bau-
y-wldu bzzaf u kat-ns
l-yalat l-amlat ba
y-miu l s-sbitar.
Sumiya: had -i mzyan. tbark lla
likum.
Christine: lla y-bark fik.

s-sa
health
health clinic
s-sbitar
the importance l-'ahammiya
nurse
l-frmli(ya)
the (water)
well
l-bir
doctor
t-tbib(a)
diarrhea
l-kr
to be sick
mrd
to immunize
jlb
medicines
d-dwa
to give birth
wld
the shot
libra
pregnant
amla
124 Moroccan Arabic
Small Business Development

Dialogue
Chris: s-salamu alaykum.
l-mllm: wa alaykum s-salam.
Chris: sm li n-qddm lik rasi.
l-mllm: iyeh, tfddl a sidi.
Chris: smiti Chris, ana
mutatawwi ma hay'at
s-salam u jit hna ba
n-awn l-muqawalat
s-sira.
l-mllm: u kifa at-awnha?
Chris: f bzzaf d l-wayj, bal
l-isabat u l-'ihar u
t-tswiq. matalan
kan-sawbu lakart d vizit
l l-muqawala u
kan-tiuha smiya u
kan-hhru l-mntuj dyalha
f l-internet.
l-mllm: had -i mumtaz welakin
ba at-stafd had
l-muqawala?
Chris: at-stafd it at-bi
s-sla dyalha f l-mrib
u f l-xarij.
l-mllm: mzyan. lla y-awnk.
Chris: ukran a sidi.

small business development
tnmiyat l-muqawalat
s-sira
enterprise /
firm
l-muqawala
products
l-mntuj
accountancy
l-isabat
merchandise
s-sla
advertisement
l-'ihar
business card
lakart d
vizit
to advertise
hhr
abroad
l-xarij
marketing
t-tswiq
to advertise
the products
hhr b
l-mntuj
Renting a House
speak about renting and furnishing houses
Finding a House
Vocabulary
building /
block of flats
imara
floor
tbqa
apartment
brtma
house
dar
stairs
druj
elevator
sansur
balcony
balkun
bath
l-mmam
rental agent
(in cities)
s-smsar
shower
d-du
living room
salun
kitchen
l-kuzina
bedroom
bit n-nas
neighbor
jar(a)
bathroom
bit l-ma /
twalet
neighbors
jiran
Expressions
Im looking for a house to rent.
kan-qllb la i dar l
l-kra.
Can you show it to me?
we ymkn lik t-wrriha

liya?
Where is it located?
amn blasa?
Give me directions to it.
nt liya fin jat.
Can I see it?
we ymkn liya n-ufha?
How many rooms does it have?
al fiha mn bit?
Is the roof for common use?
we s-st mruk?
126 Moroccan Arabic
Dialogue
Mark: s-salamu alaykum
l-aj: wa alaykum s-salam
Mark: we kayna i dar l
l-kra?
l-aj: we biti maal kbir
wlla sir?
Mark: bit dar mtwssta, y-kun
fiha salun u bit n-nas
u d-du u kuzina u
kat-dxl liha -ms u
y-kun s-st dyali
b-wdi.
l-aj: kayna wda welakin
t-taman dyalha 20.000
ryal.
20.000
Mark: lla bzzaf liya,

laqqa ana ir b-wdi
u ma-adi- n-qdr n-xlls
had t-taman.
l-aj: al biti t-xlls?
Mark: 10.000 ryal.
10 000
l-aj: iwa f had s-saa

ma-mujuda- i aja b
dak t-taman. welakin
mrra mrra rj ndi, ila
lqit i aja adi
n-lmk.
Mark: waxxa a sidi, barak lla
u fik.
l-aj: lla y-bark fik.
1. la ma Mark nd l-aj?
2. we ba dar kbira wlla dar sira?
3. nu ba y-kun f had d-dar?
4. we af Mark d-dar l-li hdr

liha l-aj?
5. la ma-kraha-?
6. we kayna i dar xora rxs

mn hadi?
7. fuqa adi y-rj Mark nd l-aj?
Furnishing a House
House Furniture
table
tbla
radio / tape
recorder
musjjala
chair
kursi
television
tlfaza
bed
namusiya
electric outlet
priz
pillow
mxdda /
usada
light bulb
bola
floor mat
sira
electric cord
xit d d-dow
rug
zrbiya
candle
ma
carpet
mukit
iron
mslu /
dida
blanket
manta /
kaa
key / switch
sarut
curtain
xamiya
broom
taba
sheet
izar
squeegee
jbbada /
jfafa
Moroccan sofa
ponj
water heater
ufu
couch
sdari
heater
ofaj
refrigerator
tllaja
spoon
mlqa
oven
frran
knife
mus
blender
tana
fork
frita
saucepan
gamila
glass
kas
cooking pot
tawa
teapot
brrad
plate
tbsil
coffee pot
briq
brazier
mjmr
tray
siniya
grill
uwaya
bowl
zlafa
strainer
sffaya
kettle
mqraj
pressure
cooker
kokot
pitcher
rraf
sifter
rbal
couscous pot
brma
frying pan
mqla
ladle
mrfa
faucet
robini
Kitchenware
128 Moroccan Arabic
Exercise: Put the household items in the correct room.

butagaz
kursi
kuzina
namusiya
tbla
mus
sabun
mlqa
mus
tawa
bit n-nas
ktab
l-ma
d-du
tbsil
usada
bit l-ma
sffaya
robini
Exercise: Describe in Darija the house you want to rent.
Moroccan Wisdom:
ydd wda ma-kat-sffq-.
One hand cant clap.
Safety and Security

list some safety and security problems you may face during your service
describe some strategies for dealing with these issues
use Moroccan Arabic to implement these strategies
Sexual Harassment
Vocabulary
gazelle*
l-zala
to follow someone
tb
the beautiful*
z-zwina
to get in someone's
way
trrd
the beauty*
z-zin
to harass
ngg
a strawberry (girl)*
t-tuta
*These words are used by men to harass women.
Expressions
sexual harassment
tarru jinsi
He followed me.
tbni.
What do you want?
nu biti?
Go away.
sir f alk.
Get away (far) from me.
bd mnni.
Let go of me.
tlq mnni.
Dont touch me.
ma-t-qisni-.
Dont follow me again.
ma-t-awd- t-tbni.
Give me some space. (go away) tini t-tisa.

Go or you will regret it.
sir wlla adi t-ndm.
I will tell the police.
adi n-bll l-bulis.
I will call the gendarmes.
adi n-iyt la
j-jadarmiya.
Respect yourself.
tarm rask.
He doesnt want to get away

(far) from me.
ma-ba- y-bd mnni.
I told you: get away (far) from

me.
glt lik: bd mnni.
I told you: go away.
glt lik: sir f alk.
130 Moroccan Arabic
Text - Arabic
Text - Transcription
Cathy xarja mn dar -bab
mlli Cathy xarja mn dar -bab, kan wad mul t-tumubil waqf f j-jnb
dyal t-triq. mnin wslat Cathy dah, gal liha: "tli a l-zala n-wsslk."
Cathy galt lih: "sir f alk. we biti i wad y-tb xtk?" bqat Cathy
adya u bqa mul t-tumubil tbha. qtat Cathy t-triq l j-jiha l-xura. nat
rasha u kmmlat triqha. f nhar t-tani awd nfs -i ma mul t-tumubil. f
nhar t-talt galt Cathy l mul t-tumubil: "ila awdti tbni adi n-bll
l-bulis." b l-fil awd tbha u mat l l-bulis u bllat u tathum rqm
t-tumubil. l-bulis ddu mul t-tumubil u iytu la Cathy. tlb mul
t-tumubil s-smaa mn Cathy u ltazm ba ma-bqi- y-trrd liha mrra xora.
Questions
1. fin kant Cathy?
2. fin kan mul t-tumubil?
3. nu gal mul t-tumubil l Cathy?
4. we mat Cathy ma mul t-tumubil?

5. nu dart Cathy mlli awd tbha
mul t-tumubil?
6. nu dar mul t-tumubil mlli dduh
l-bulis?
4
5
6
Text - English Translation

Cathy coming out of the youth center
When Cathy was coming out of the youth center, there was a man in his car by the side of the
road. As she passed by him, he told her: Get in gazelle, I will take you home. Cathy said: Go
away. Is it okay with you if someone harasses your sister? Cathy kept walking and the man was
following her with his car. She crossed the road, ignoring him, and continued on her way. The next
day, the same thing happened with that man. The following day Cathy told the man: If you follow
me again I will tell the police. In fact, he did follow her again and so she went to the police station.
She told them what happened and gave them the license plate number. The police arrested the
man and called Cathy. The man apologized to Cathy and promised not to get in her way again.
At the Taxi Stand

Vocabulary
seat
blasa
windshield
j-jaja
tire
rwida
cracked
mquqa
smooth
memsua
to be afraid
xaf
to happen
wq
Expressions
Drive slowly please.
sug b -wiya afak.
Better safe than sorry.
llahumma slama wala

ndama.
Dialogue
f matta d t-taxiyat
l-kurti: blasa Akka, blasa Akka.
Max: ana adi l Akka.
l-kurti: tl.
Max: bllati, xllini n-uf
t-taksi bda. ma-bit-
n-mi f had t-taksi.
l-kurti: la?
Max: r-rwayd mmsuin u j-jaja
l-qddamiya mquqa.
l-kurti: ir zid ma-t-xaf-, ma
adi y-wq walu.
Max: uf liya i taxi mzyan
afak.
l-kurti: xssk t-tsnna wiya.
Max: l-wqt mai mukil.
llahumma slama wala
ndama.
Questions
1. fin kayn Max?
2. fin adi Max?
3. la ma-ma- f t-taxi l-li af?
4. nu tlb mn l-kurti?
132 Moroccan Arabic
English Translation
At the taxi stand
l-kurti: A seat to Aqqa, a seat to Aqqa.
Max: I am going to Aqqa.
l-kurti: Get in.
Max: Wait. Let me see the taxi first. . . . I dont want to go in this taxi.
l-kurti: Why?
Max: The tires are smooth and the windshield is cracked.
l-kurti: Come on, dont worry. Nothing is going to happen.
Max: Find me a good taxi.
l-kurti: You have to wait a little bit.
Max: Time is not a problem. Better safe than sorry.
At Work
Vocabulary
to bring in
dxxl
to take out
dd ma
xrrj
to lock to
(something)
to steal
srq
a lock
qfl
to be stolen
tsrq
Dialogue
f l-xdma
lomolog: s-salamu alaykum. jiti
bkri l-yum.
Patrick: wa alaykum s-salam. i
wiya.
lomolog: a hada? la dxxlti
l-bisklit l l-biru.
Patrick: ah, adi y-tsrq ila
xllitu brra.
lomolog: welakin hadi mai blasa d
l-bisklit.
Patrick: iyeh, welakin a adi
n-dir?
lomolog: dir qfl l l-bisklit u
ddu ma l-bab dyal brra.
Patrick: fikra mzyana. ma-fkkrt-
fiha.
lomolog: we ndk qfl?
Patrick: iyeh, ndi. n-xrrju daba
u n-ddu ma l-bab.
lomolog: sdd t-lqa ma-t-ll.
Questions
1. la dxxl Patrick l-bisklit l
l-biru?
2. nu gal lomolog l Patrick?
3. nu dar Patrick f t-tali?
English Translation
At work
counterpart: Peace be upon you. You came in early today.
Patrick: Peace be upon you too. A little bit.
counterpart: Whats this? Why did you bring your bicycle into the office?
Patrick: Oh. It will be stolen if I leave it outside.
counterpart: But this is not the place for bicycles.
Patrick: Yes, but what should I do?
counterpart: Use a lock with the bicycle, and lock it to the gate.
Patrick: Good idea. I didnt think about that.
counterpart: Do you have a lock?
Patrick: Yes, I have one. Ill take it outside now and lock it to the gate.
counterpart: Lock now what you will find later.
Forgetting a Wallet in a Taxi / Filing a Report

Vocabulary
police
bulis
to lose
wddr
police station
kumisariya
to forget
nsa
wallet
bztam
to save
(someone)
tq
Expressions
Help me.
awnni.
I lost my passport.
wddrt l-ppasppor.
I forgot my wallet in...
nsit l-bztam dyali f...
Wheres the police station?
fin l-kumisariya?
Help me! (use only in extreme danger)
tqu r-ru.
134 Moroccan Arabic
Dialogue
Brian: s-salamu alaykum.
bulis: wa alaykum s-salam.
Brian: sm li, nsit l-bztam
dyali f wad t-taksi.
bulis: waxxa, nu smitk?
Brian: smiti Brian ....
bulis: nu kayn f l-bztam?
Brian: fih l-ppasppor dyali u
wad lakart viza u 500
drhm.
bulis: we qlti la n-nmra
dyal t-taksi?
500
Brian: 45.
45
bulis: waxxa, xlli liya r-rqm d

t-tilifun dyalk, adi
n-ttaslu bik mn bd.
Brian: ukran.
bulis: lla ukran ala wajib.
Questions
1. fin ma Brian? la?
2. we tsrq lih l-bztam?
English Translation
Brian: Peace be upon you.
police: Peace be upon you too.
Brian: Excuse me, I forgot my wallet in a taxi.
police: Okay, whats your name?
Brian: My name is Brian ...
police: What was in the wallet?
Brian: My passport, a Visa card, and 500 dirham.
police: Do you remember the taxis number?
Brian: 45.
police: Okay, leave me your phone number, well call you later.
Brian: Thanks.
police: Its my duty.
Butagas
Vocabulary
butane gas
tank
l-buta
metal regulator
between gas
tank and hose
l-magana
gas
l-gaz
to test
jrrb
CO detector
d-ditiktur
to close (tank)
sdd
battery
l-jra
to open (tank)
ll
gasket
(rubber ring)
j-jlda d
l-buta
to turn on /
to make work
xddm
torn
mqtt
(a)
to change
bddl
hose
t-tiyu
to tighten
ziyr
odor / smell
r-ria
to smell
mm
ring
l-xatm
Expressions
There is a gas smell.
kayna r-ria d l-gaz.
Turn on the detector.
xddm d-ditiktur.
Test the butagas tank with

water and soap.
jrrb l-buta b l-ma u

s-sabun.
Change the rubber ring if its

torn.
bddl j-jlda d l-buta

ila tqtat.
Dialogue
Fatima nd Caroline
Fatima: ahlan bixir.
Caroline: bixir l-amdullah, mrba
bik.
Fatima: ukran. aji mmit r-ria d
l-buta.
Caroline: ma-mmit-, rah ndi
d-ditiktur d l-gaz welakin
ma-fih- l-jra.
Fatima: xssk t-xddmih dima, had
-i mai lb. aji n-ufu
j-jlda d l-buta bda.
Caroline: waxxa.
Fatima: j-jlda mqtt
a. had -i
xatar. xssna n-bddluha u
mn bd n-jrrbu b l-ma u
s-sabun.
Caroline: fikra mzyana.
136 Moroccan Arabic
Questions
1. la ma-xddmat- Caroline
d-ditiktur d l-gaz?
2. nu l-mukil f l-buta dyal
Caroline?
1
2
3. nu xss Caroline u Fatima y-diru?
English Translation
Fatima: Hello, how are you?
Caroline: Fine, thanks be to God. Welcome.
Fatima: Thanks. Come here . . . I smell gas.
Caroline: I dont smell it. I have a gas detector but it ran out of batteries.
Fatima: You should always have it on. This is no game. Lets look at the
rubber gasket ring first.
Caroline: Okay.
Fatima: You see, the rubber ring is torn. This is dangerous. We have to
change it, then test it with water and soap.
Caroline: Good idea.
Hash
Vocabulary
hashish
l-i
to use
stml
quality
kaliti / nu
lasq
to smoke
kma
sticking to /
bothering
someone
Dialogue
Jalil: aji axay, we kat-qllb la
l-i?
Scott: lla, sir f alk. ana
ma-kan-stmlu-.
Jalil: aji, rah ndi kaliti zwina
mn ktama.
Scott: glt lik sir f alk. bd
mnni. ana ma-kan-kmi-.
Jalil: uf, n-dir mak taman
mzyan.
Scott: uf nta, ila bqiti lasqni
adi n-gulha l l-bulis.
ana ma-kan-kmi-.
Jalil: l-bulis! safi lla y-awnk.
Questions
1. ma mn tlaqa Scott?
2. nu ba mnnu Jalil?
3. we ra Scott l-i?
4. la xaf Jalil u ma b alu?
English Translation
Jalil: Come here (brother), are you looking for hash?
Scott: No, go away. I dont use it.
Jalil: Come on, its good stuff from Ktama.
Scott: I said go away. I dont smoke.
Jalil: Look, Ill give you a good price.
Scott: You look, if you keep bothering me Ill call the police. I dont smoke.
Jalil: Police! Okay, may God help you.
Theft
Vocabulary
theft
s-srqa
thief
ffar /
srraq
danger
xatar
to touch
qas
dangerous
xatir
to forgive
sm l...
make a statement /
file a report
sjjl dwa
he attacked me
tdda liya
summons
stida
he snatched my...
xtf liya...
witness
ahd
he slapped me
srfqni
testimony
ahada
he hit me
drbni
police
l-bulis
he spit on me
dfl liya
police inspector
l-inspiktur
he grabbed me
from...
ddni mn...
police car
fargunit
he cursed me
sbbni
report
rappur
he stole my...
srq liya...
law
l-qanun
he insulted me
ayrni
human rights
uquq
l-'insan
to call (the police)
iyt l
lawyer
muami
court
mkama
medical certificate /
report
ahada
tibbiya
138 Moroccan Arabic
Expressions
Wheres the closest police /
gendarme station, please.
fin 'aqrab kumisariya /

brigad d j-jundarm,
afak?
I want to make a statement

about a theft / an attack / sexual
harassment.
bit n-bll la s-srqa

/ itida' / tarru
jinsi.
What police station should I go

to?
lamn kumisariya xssni

n-mi?
Take me to the closest police

station, please.
ddini l 'aqrab
kumisariya, afak.
Be careful!
di rask!
Pay attention.
rdd balk.
Come with me to the police.
zid maya l l-bulis.
Dialogue
John: s-salamu alaykum.
bulis: wa alaykum s-salam. nu xssk?
John: bit n-bll la i srqa.
bulis: we lik nta?
John: iyeh.
bulis: waxxa, tini l-ppaspor dyalk.
John: ndi ir la-kart d sejur, hak.
bulis: tta hiya mzyana. nu srq lik? u
fuqa?
John: sak, f 3:00.
3:00
bulis: kif dar srq lik s-sak?

John: xtfu liya mn ktfi.
bulis: kif dayr had -ffar? wsfu liya.
John: twil u labs djin u t-urt mr.
bulis: nu kayn f had s-sak b d-dbt?
John: ndi fih tilifun u futa u ktab u
musjjala sira (walkman) u 200
drhm.
bulis: waxxa, a sidi. adi n-diru l-bt
dyalna u n-taslu bik mn bd.
John: safi, we n-mi?
bulis: lla, tsnna tta t-axud mak nsxa
mn r-rappur.
John: waxxa ukran.
bulis: hak, daba n-taslu bik. di rask
mrra xura.
200
English Translation
John: Peace be upon you.
police officer: Peace be upon you too. Can I help you?
John: I want to report a theft.
police officer: Are you the victim?
John: Yes.
police officer: Okay, your passport, please.
John: I have only my carte de sejour. Here you are.
police officer: Thats okay. What was stolen from you and
when?
John: A bag at 3:00.
police officer: How was it stolen?
John: A man snatched it from my shoulder.
police officer: Can you describe the thief?
John: Hes tall, wearing jeans and a red T-shirt.
police officer: What exactly did you have in the bag?
John: A cell phone, a towel, a book, a walkman, and
200 dirham.
police officer: Okay, sir, well do our investigation and well get
in touch with you later.
John: Thats it? Can I leave?
police officer: Wait a minute, youve got to take a photocopy of
the report.
John: Okay, thanks.
police officer: Here you are. Well get in touch with you. Be
careful in the future.
House Security / Doors and Windows

Vocabulary
lock
qfl
sliding metal bolt

for locking doors
z-zkrum
welder
sudur /
ddad
iron bars
barrat
latch / bolt
s-saqta
hardware
store
d-drogri
140 Moroccan Arabic
Dialogue
Jamal: s-salamu alaykum.
Carlos: wa alaykum s-salam.
mrba bik.
Jamal: a kat-dir f d-dar?
Carlos: walu, ir gals.
Jamal: yallah n-xrju.
Carlos: waxxa.
Jamal: nu hada? had l-qfl
iyan. xssk wad si. u
xssk saqta ba t-sdd
ldaxl.
Carlos: fikra mzyana. mnin adi
n-rihum?
Jamal: mn d-drugri wlla mn
s-suq dda. u tta had
s-srjm xssu barrat dyal
l-did ba thnna. aji
n-miu nd s-sudur
n-sawbu had s-srjm daba.
xssk ir t-dd l-bar
dyalu.
Carlos: hadi fikra mutabara.
Jamal: iyeh, llahumma slama
wala ndama.
Questions
1. nu kan Carlos kay-dir?
2. nu l-mukil dyal Carlos?
3. nu xss Carlos ydir?
4. mnin adi y-ri l-qfl u s-saqta?
5. nd mn adi y-sawb l-barrat?
English Translation
Jamal:
Carlos:
Jamal:
Carlos:
Jamal:
Carlos:
Jamal:
Carlos:
Jamal:
Carlos:
Jamal:
Peace be upon you.

And peace be upon you too. Welcome.
What are you doing at home?
Nothing, just sitting around.
Lets go out.
Okay.
What is this? This lock is not strong. You need a strong one. You also need a
sliding metal bolt in order to lock the door from the inside.
Good idea. Where can I get these from?
From the hardware store or from souk tomorrow. Also this window needs iron bars
for you to feel safe. Lets go to the welders to fix this window now. You need to
measure it.
Excellent idea.
Its better to be safe than sorry.
Political Harassment
Vocabulary
to end
wqf
war
-b
l-rb
population,
people
citizen
muwatin
for
ma
normal
adi
against
dedd
freedom
l-uriya
to convince
qn
democracy
d-dimuqratiya
killing
l-qtila
subject
mudu
to kill
qtl
Dialogue
kan John gals f l-qhwa kay-qra
"Newsweek" u kanu n-nas kay-tfrrju f
"Al-Jazira." wad mn n-nas gal l John:
muwatin: hdr ma Bush y-wqqf had
l-rb.
John: ana ir muwatin adi mn
mirikan. xdmti hiya n-awn
n-nas f l-mrib. had -i
l-li kan-rf. safi.
muwatin: welakin kat-gulu ndkum
l-uriya u d-dimuqratiya.
John: had -i bss welakin ana
ir mirikani adi mn
-b.
muwatin: kulkum bal bal, kat-biu
l-rb. f mirikan ktr mn
50% d n-nas ma l-rb.
tta nta mnhum.
John: lla. ana ma 50% xora l-li
dedd l-rb.
muwatin: kifa adi n-rfu?
John: kifa adi n-qnk?
muwatin: ma-n-rf welakin mirikan
xssha t-wqqf l-qtila dyal
n-nas.
John: mttafq mak.
bqat wad l-mjmua d n-nas f l-qhwa
kay-tkllmu la had l-mudu u kay-ufu
f John. John xlls qhwtu u ma f
alu.
50
50
142 Moroccan Arabic
Questions
1. fin kan John?
2. nu kan kay-dir?
3. nu kanu n-nas kay-diru?
4. nu hiya l-xdma dyal John f

l-mrib?
5. we mirikan kulha ma l-rb?
6. we John ma wlla ddd l-rb?
7. nu dar John f t-tali?
English Translation
John was sitting in a caf reading Newsweek. Some people there were watching Al-Jazeera. One
of the men at the caf said to John:
Moroccan citizen: Talk to Bush about stopping this war.
John: Im just a normal citizen from America. My job is to help people in Morocco.
Thats all I know.
Moroccan citizen: But in America you say you have freedom and democracy.
John: Thats true, but I am just a normal American.
Moroccan citizen: You are all the same. You all like war. In America more than 50% of the people
are for the war. You are one of them.
John: No, I am with the other Americans against the war.
Moroccan citizen: How are we going to know?
John: How can I convince you?
Moroccan citizen: I dont know but America must stop killing people.
John: I agree.
A group of people in the caf kept talking about the subject of the war. They were looking at John.
John paid for his coffee and left.
Appendices
Pronunciation of Moroccan Arabic ........................................................................................................... 144
Supplementary Grammar Lessons............................................................................................................ 148
More Useful Expressions ........................................................................................................................... 157
Moroccan Holidays .................................................................................................................................... 159
Glossary of Verbs ....................................................................................................................................... 163
144 Moroccan Arabic
Pronunciation of Moroccan Arabic

Despite what you may think at first, it is indeed possible for you to learn how to pronounce the sounds
of Moroccan Arabic. Learning to pronounce Arabic sounds correctly entails two things: first, becoming
aware of how to make the different sounds and, second, practicing with a native speaker. This chapter
will help you with the first task.
Understanding How Sounds Are Made

Before we move directly into how to pronounce Arabic sounds, lets first understand how sounds are
made in general. Then we can use this knowledge in order to work on Arabic sounds.
Fricatives and Stops

Make the /s/ sound. Notice how air is being forced through the space between your tongue and the
gum ridge in your mouth. When a sound is produced like this, by forcing air between some small
opening, that sound is called a fricative. Make the /f/ sound. This sound is also a fricative, because in
order to make it we must force air between our teeth and our bottom lip. Some sounds in English that
are fricatives are: /s/, /z/, /sh/, /th/, /f/, /v/, and others.
Now make the /t/ sound. Here, we are not forcing air through a small opening at a constant pressure,
but rather we completely block the air flow for a moment, and then release the air stream in one big
burst. A sound that is produced by blocking the air flow, and then releasing it, is called a stop. Make
the /k/ sound. This is another stop because again, you will notice how we build up a lot of pressure
with air, and then release it. Some stops in English are: /t/, /k/, /g/, /b/, /p/, and others.
Voiced and Voiceless Sounds

We can also categorize consonant sounds according to whether we use our voice box or not. Make the
/s/ sound. While making the sound, hold your hand over your throat. Now make the /z/ sound, still
holding your hand to your throat. Youll notice that with /s/, we dont use our voice box, but with /z/,
our voice box vibrates. Sounds like /s/ are called voiceless, since we dont use our voice box. Sounds
like /z/ are called voiced, since our voice box vibrates. Make the sound /t/. Is it voiceless or voiced?
Now make the sound /d/. Voiceless or voiced?
Lets look now at some of the difficult Arabic sounds, using what we know about sounds in general.
Pronunciation of Non-English Consonants

The Sound q ( )
The q sound is similar to the k sound. Both are voiceless stops that are made by releasing air
forcefully after completely blocking the air flow momentarily. The only difference is where in the
throat the speaker blocks the air flow. The q sound will be made further back in the throat than the k
sound. Try the following exercise.
First, take a minute to become more familiar with your throat muscles. Open your mouth and say aah,
as if you were at the doctors office. Your tongue should be flat in your mouth. Without raising your
tongue, pull it back so that the base of your tongue closes off air by pulling back against the throat. At
this point, you should not be able to breathe through your mouth, although it is wide open. Practice
doing this first without making a sound. After performing this exercise several times, make a sound by
releasing the air forcefully. The result will be the sound q.
The Sound x ( )
The sound x is a voiceless fricative formed around the same place as the sound q. It is found in many
European languages: the Russian x, the Scottish pronunciation of loch, and the German ch as
The /t/ sound is voiceless and the /d/ sound is voiced. Both are stops.

pronounced after a back vowel as in Bach. Some people use this sound to say yech! To pronounce x,
make the sound q and pay attention to where the back of your tongue hits the back of the roof of your
mouth and blocks your windpipe. Instead of closing off the windpipe with the back of your tongue
completely, block it part way, and you will produce this sound.
The Sound ( )
The sound is the same sound as the sound x, except it is voiced. In other words, if you can make
the sound x, all you need to do is vibrate your voice box at the same time, and you will produce .
Think of the correspondence between the sounds k (kite) and g (game): k is voiceless and g is voiced.
Pronounce k and g several times, paying attention to how your voice changes when you say g. Now say
x several times, and then voice it. The result is .
Alternatively, you may think of as similar to the sound you make when gargling. Gargle for a minute
and pay attention to the muscles you use. The sound is pronounced using these same muscles in
similar fashion.
The Emphatic Sounds s (
), d (
), and t ( )
The sound s is the emphatic counterpart of the sound s. Pronounce the sound s aloud, and note the
position of your tongue. It should be toward the front of the mouth and high, close to the roof. Now,
starting at the back of your teeth, move your tongue back along the roof of your mouth. You will find a
bony ridge just behind the teeth, before the upward curve of the roof. Put your tongue against this
ridge. The rest of your tongue will drop lower inside your mouth. The emphatic or velarized
consonants in Arabic are pronounced by placing the tip of your tongue in this spot and dropping the
rest of the tongue as low as you can. Thus, the sounds s, d, and t are all made with the tongue in this
position.
All the emphatic sounds are lower in pitch than their non-emphatic counterparts. They are
pronounced with greater muscular tension in the mouth and throat and with a raising of the back and
root of the tongue toward the roof of the mouth. You can notice this contraction of the throat easily by
prolonging the l in full.
One important note about the emphatic sounds: they deepen the sound of surrounding vowels. Pay
attention to the sound of all vowels near these emphatic sounds, because the quality of the vowels gives
the best indication of the presence of emphatic consonants. One important example is tini, give
me in Moroccan Arabic. Most trainees will hear the word and think it is pronounced tayni, with the
middle vowel sound ay instead of i. This is because the emphatic sound t affects the way the i
sounds, making it sound (to the English speakers ear) like an ay. It is, in fact, an i however.
The Sound ( )
The sound is a voiceless fricative pronounced deep in the throat. It has no equivalent in English. In
order to practice this sound, first take a few minutes to become better acquainted with some of your
throat muscles that you use often, but not to speak English. The following exercises are designed to
make you aware of what these muscles can already do, so that you can use them to speak Arabic.
Practice them for a few minutes every day, as often as you can.
1. With your mouth closed, block off your windpipe at your throat. Put your hand on your throat
at the Adams apple and constrict the muscles on the inside. You should be able to feel the
muscles contracting. Alternately tighten and relax them for a few minutes.
2. Repeat this with your mouth open. Try to breathe out through your mouthif you can, you are
not closing off the windpipe entirely.
3. Constrict those same muscles so that air can just barely squeeze through your throat. Imitate
someone fogging a pair of glasses to clean them. The sound of the air coming through your
constricted throat muscles is . By now, you should be aware of what your throat muscles are
doing.
146 Moroccan Arabic

4. Bend your head down so that your chin rests on the top of your chest, and repeat exercise 3.
This position should make it easier for you to feel what you are doing.
Pronouncing takes practice, first to pronounce the letter alone, and then to pronounce it surrounded
by other letters in a word. You must learn to pronounce it properly to be understood, and at first, this
will take some concentration on your part. However, the more you practice now, the sooner you will be
able to say it easily.
The Sound ) (
We now come to one of the most distinctive sounds in Arabic: . When pronounced correctly, has its
own unique beauty and can be a very expressive sound. It is not as difficult to pronounce as one may
first think, but you need to exercise your throat muscles, the same ones that you use to pronounce .
You should continually be doing the exercises you learned above for , in which you constricted your
throat muscles as if you were blocking off the air passage from the inside. You can feel this by putting
your hand on your throat. Say , and feel the muscles contract. Now pronounce the same sound and
voice it. That is, say the say sound while vibrating your voice box, changing the breathy sound of
into the deep, throaty sound of . The sounds and are only different because is voiceless and is
voiced.
Some trainees think that sounds like a vowel, but it is not a vowel. Because we constrict our throat
muscles and force air through the passageway, the sound is a fricative. Vowels do not force air
through a partially blocked passageway, and thus cannot be fricatives.
The Arabic r ( )
The sound r in Arabic is not the same as the English r. It is not difficult, like some of the other sounds
above may seem at first. But because it is new, we include here a short description of it. The sound is a
flap, like the Spanish or Italian r. You already know how to make this sound: it is the sound
American English speakers make saying gotta as in gotta go. Say gotta several times in a row very
quickly and pay attention to what your tongue is doing. You should feel it flapping against the roof of
your mouth behind your teeth. Now pronounce the sound alone. Another good exercise is to practice
making a whirring sound: rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Do these exercises daily until you have mastered this
sound.
Pronunciation of Shedda
In Arabic, a shedda is a pronounced stress upon a letter in a word. In transcription, this stress is
indicated by a doubling of a consonant (see page 3). When there is shedda, it indicates that the
consonant is to be held twice as long as a normal consonant. That is, it should be pronounced for twice
the length of time. This is easy with fluid sounds like z or r. With sounds like b or d, however, you
must begin to say them and pause in the middle of pronouncing them for a second. This may take
some practice at first.
In English, this doubling of a consonant sound never occurs in the middle of words, but is very
common from the end of one word to the beginning of another. Compare the difference between the
single d in lay down and the double dd in laid down. Noticing the difference between the single
d and double dd in this example will give you some idea of how a shedda affects pronunciation.
It cannot be stressed enough that shedda affects not only the pronunciation of a word, but
also its meaning, especially for verbs. Recognizing when shedda is used and learning to
pronounce it correctly yourself is an important task in your study of Moroccan Arabic.
The Definite Article

In English, the definite article is the word the. It is different from the indefinite articles, which
are a and an. In English, the definite article speaks about something specific: I washed the dog
today (you know which dog Im speaking about). The indefinite articles talk about something nonspecific: I saw a dog today (you dont know the dog Im speaking about).
In Arabic, the definite article is not always used exactly as in English. When written in Arabic script, it
is composed of two letters, al ( ), attached to the beginning of a noun or an adjective. Here is the
Arabic script for the book:
the definite article
These two letters are always written in Arabic script for a definite article, but they are not always
pronounced. In Moroccan Arabic, the first letter, a ( ), is never pronounced. Two possibilities exist,
therefore, for pronouncing the definite article. Sometimes, the second letter, l ( ), is pronounced.
Other times, instead of pronouncing the l ( ), the first letter of the word is doubled with a shedda.
Whether the definite article is pronounced with l or by doubling the first letter with shedda is
determined by which letter is the first letter of the word. Lets look at these two different
possibilities.
The Moon Letters

In the first possibility, the Arabic definite article is pronounced with an l ( ) at the beginning of a word.
All words that begin with the following letters follow this rule:
i/y
u/w
These letters are called moon letters, because the Arabic word for moon, qamar, begins with one of
the letters in the group. Notice in the following examples that the definite article is pronounced by
adding an l to the word:
ktab
bnt
a book
a girl
the book
l-ktab
the girl
l-bnt
a boy
wld
a moon
qamar
the boy
l-wld
the moon
l-qamar
The Sun Letters

In the second possibility, the Arabic definite article is pronounced by doubling the first letter of a word
with a shedda. All words that begin with the following letters follow this rule:
n
These letters are known as sun letters, because the Arabic word for sun, ms, begins with one of the
letters in the group. Notice in the following examples that the definite article is pronounced by
doubling the first letter of the word by using shedda.
a house
dar
a street
znqa
the house
d-dar
the street
z-znqa
a man
rajl
a sun
ms
the man
r-rajl
the sun
-ms
148 Moroccan Arabic
Supplementary Grammar Lessons

These are lessons you can work on by yourself or with your tutor once you arrive at your site. It is
unlikely you will be able to complete them during stage, unless you already have some experience with
Arabic.
Making Intransitive Verbs into Transitive Verbs

Intransitive verbs are verbs that do not require a direct object such as:
to come in
dxl
to be afraid
xaf
to go out
xrj
to drink
rb
to laugh
dk
to understand
fhm
to fall
ta
to go up
tl
to go down
hbt
All these verbs are trilateral (i.e. they are made up of three letters) and they can be made transitive by
doubling their middle consonant (i.e. putting a shedda on it). The new transitive verb normally has the
meaning to make someone do something. Look at how the meaning changes when the intransitive
verb dk to laugh is changed into a transitive verb:
You are laughing / you laugh.
kat-dk.
You make me laugh.
kat-dkni.
Here is a list of verbs commonly used in their transitive form:

to make (someone or
something) enter / to bring in
dxxl
to make (someone or
something) exit / to take out
xrrj
to make (so/sth) laugh
dk
to drop / to throw down (i.e. to

make something fall)
tiy
to frighten (i.e. to make

someone afraid)
xuwf
to water (i.e. to make something

drink)
rrb
to make (someone) understand

/ to explain
fhhm
to make go up / to promote / to
take up
tll
to bring down / to demote
hbbt

Some examples:
I brought in a dog to the house
but my father took it out.
The clown makes small kids
laugh.
Take this table out of here,
please.
dxxlt wad l-klb l d-dar

welakin bba xrrju.
l-klun kay-dk d-drari
s-sar.
xrrj afak had t-tbla mn
hna.
Passive Verbs
Transitive verbs can be made passive by adding t ( ) to them, as shown below:
to write
ktb
to be written (masc.)
tktb
to be written (fem.)
tktbat
to be written (plur.)
tktbu
to understand
fhm
to be understood (masc.)
tfhm
to be understood (fem.)
tfhmat
to be understood (plur.)
tfhmu
to buy
ra
to be bought (masc.)
tra
to be bought (fem.)
trat
to be bought (plur.)
trau
to steal
srq
to be stolen (masc.)
tsrq
to be stolen (fem.)
tsrqat
to be stolen (plur.)
tsrqu
Some examples:
Ali ate pizza.
li kla l-pitza.
The pizza was eaten.
tklat l-pitza.
The teacher wrote the lesson.
l-ustad ktb d-drs.
The lesson was written.
d-drs tktb.
The students understood the

riddle.
t-tlamd fhmu l-luz.
The riddle was understood.
l-luz tfhm.
150 Moroccan Arabic
Laila bought some clothes.
layla rat l-wayj.
Some clothes were bought.
l-wayj trau.
Exercise: Put the sentences below in the passive form.

1. lssq t-tswira f l-it.
2. bau l-fllaa l-msul dyalhum.
3. sbnat Jamila l-wayj.
4. hrrs Peter l-kisan.
5. smma Aziz bntu Ibtisam.
6. smt s-sda l-bar.
7. jlat Lupe l-purtabl.
8. jrat Jill sbha b l-mus.
9. tat Aicha l-kadu l Malika.
10. kra i wad had d-dar.
10
The Past Progressive

The Moroccan Arabic equivalent for the English past progressive (was doing, were doing) is the past of
kan ( ) to be followed by the present tense. For example:
He was talking.
kan kay-tkllm.
He wasnt talking.
ma-kan- kay-tkllm.
You were talking.
knti kat-tkllm.
I wasnt working
ma-knt- kan-xdm.
She was writing.
kant kat-ktb.
This construction can also be translated as used to. For example:

I used to sell cars.
knt kan-bi t-tumubilat.
Whether a given occurrence of this construction is to be translated as past progressive or used to

depends upon the context.
I used to travel a lot.
knt kan-safr bzzaf.
mlli knt f s-swira, knt

When I was in Essaouira, I used
kan-akul l-ut kul
to eat fish every day.
nhar.
knt kan-tfrrj f
I was watching TV when
t-tlfaza mlli dqq i
someone knocked at the door.
wad f l-bab.
knt kan-xdm f had
I used to work in this school.
l-mdrasa.
I used to run every morning.
knt kan-jri kul sba.

knt kan-kmi bzzaf,
I used to smoke a lot but I quit
welakin ma-bqit-
smoking (dont smoke anymore). kan-kmi.

mlli ana (kan / qra) f j-jamia f
mirikan, (kan / skn) ma wad
l-a'ila mirikaniya. l-a'ila ma
mn (kan / skn), ndha juj d l-bnat
(kan / qra) maya f j-jamia. wda
mnhum (kan / tllm) l-rbiya
l-fusa, u ana (kan / raj )maha
d-durus dyalha. l-ustad l-li (kan /
qrra) l-rbiya l-fusa f dik
j-jamia smitu d-duktur Jawad. huwa
msri welakin dar jinsiya mirikaniya.
The Verb to remain

The verb bqa ( ) to remain is followed by the present tense or by the active participle (see section
below) when it corresponds to the English kept doing something. Some examples:
She kept waiting for them.
bqat kat-tsnnahum.
He kept on searching in the well

until he got tired.
bqa kay-qllb f l-bir

tta ya.
He kept going (habitually).
bqa kay-mi.
He kept going (continued on his

way, on one occasion).
bqa mai.
When negated, bqa ( ) in verb phrases is equivalent to no longer, not anymore, with either past or
present meaning. For example:
He didnt (doesnt) laugh at them
ma-bqa- kay-dk lihum.
anymore.
The active participle baqi preceding the present tense is equivalent to the English still.
Hes still working with us.
huwa baqi kay-xdm mana.
Verb Participles
Verb participles are adjectives derived from verbs. They agree in gender and number, like all
adjectives, but not in person (I, you, he) or tense (past, present). Transitive verbs have two participles,
an active and a passive participle. Intransitive verbs have only an active participle.
The Active Participle

Verb Stem
Active Participle
to write
ktb
having written
katb(a)
to open
ll
having opened
all(a)
to sell
ba
having sold
bay(a)
to buy
ra
having bought
ari(a)
152 Moroccan Arabic

Some examples:
He had written he lessons.
kan katb d-durus dyalu.
She had sold her house.
kant baya d-dar dyalha.
I found him standing at the door. lqitu waqf f l-bab.

He is wearing a new shirt today.
huwa labs qamija jdida.
I saw her wearing a green coat.
ftha labsa kbbut xdr.
Everyday I see him walking on

this street.
kul nhar kan-ufu mai f

had z-znqa.
For a small group of verbs, the active participle must be used in order to express a current (i.e.
progressive) activity. For these verbs, the present tense expresses only a habitual activity
Verb Stem
Active Participle
to sit / stay
gls
sitting
gals
to wear
lbs
wearing
labs
to sleep
ns
sleeping
nas
to leave / exit
xrj
leaving
xarj
to enter
dxl
entering
daxl
to return
rj
returning
raj
to stand
wqf
standing
waqf
to travel
safr
traveling
msafr
to rent
kra
renting
kari
to regret
ndm
regretting
nadm
to be quiet
skt
being quiet
sakt
to be afraid
xaf
being afraid
xayf
to spend the
night
bat
spending the
night
bayt
Some examples:
He wears a green shirt every
day. (habitual present tense)
kay-lbs qamija xdra kul

nhar.
He is wearing a green shirt.

(now participle)
huwa labs qamija xdra.
She goes to sleep at 10:00.

(habitual present tense)
kat-ns f 10:00.
She is sleeping.
(now participle)
hiya nasa.
10:00
Passive Participle
Verb Stem
Passive Participle
to write
ktb
(having been)
written
mktub(a)
to open
ll
(having been)
opened
mlul(a)
to sell
ba
(having been)
sold
mbiu(a)
to buy
ra
(having been)
bought
mri(a)
sn
(having been)
made /
manufactured
msnu(a)
to make
(manufacture)
Some examples:
These boxes have something

written on them.
had s-siniya msnua mn

l-fdda.
had snadq mktub lihum i
l-aja.
This letter is written; I need only

a stamp to send it.
had l-bra mktuba, xssni

ir t-tanbr ba n-siftha.
Go to my room, the door is

open.
sir l l-bit dyali rah

l-bab mlul.
This tray is made of silver.
Intransitive Verbs with Only One Participle

Verb Stem
Participle
to garnish
xddr
having garnished
having been garnished
mxddr(a)
to cover
tta
having covered
having been covered
mtti(a)
to travel
safr
having traveled
having been traveled
msafr(a)
to rest
rta
having rested
having been rested
mrta(a)
to go flat
tf
having gone flat

having been gone flat
mfu(a)
to hide
xbba
having hidden
having been hidden
mxbbi(a)
Some examples:
She is traveling now because
she is on vacation.
Im relaxed since I finished my
work.
hiya msafra daba it

ndha utla.
ana mrta mlli kmmlt
l-xdma dyali.
154 Moroccan Arabic
The tajine is garnished with

prunes and almonds.
t-tajin mxddr b l-brquq

u l-luz.
He is covered with a blanket

because he is cold.
huwa mtti b l-kaa it

jah l-brd.
She was hidden behind the

door.
kant mxbbya mur l-bab.
Exercise: In the sentences below, supply the proper form of the participle of the verb
written in parentheses.
1. Aicha (safr) l fransa.
2. kant Sara (ll) l-bab.
3. d-dar dyal sn (ba)
4. kant Layla (ma) s-suq.
5. la xlliti s-srjm (ll).
6. l-bar mlli jit kant xti (ns).
7. l-qamija dyali (wssx).
8. we (sdd) l-bab dyal l-kuzina?
9. kant Suad (ab) l-bar.
10. tiybt d-djaj (mmr) b l-luz.
10
11. had l-kas (sn )f fransa.
11
12. we kant Erika (gls) f d-dar?

13. had l-ktab (trjm) mn l-rbiya l
n-ngliziya.
14. ana (rf) blli djun (rj)
l-mrib.
12
Conjunctions
either ... or
imma ... wlla
Either send a letter or call me.
imma sift liya bra wlla

iyt liya f t-tilifun.
in order to
ba
I am learning Arabic in order to

talk to people.
kan-tllm l-rbiya ba
n-tkllm ma n-nas.
if
we
I want to know if you read this

book.
bit n-rf we qriti had

l-ktab.
13
14
when / since
mlli / mnin
When I came to Rabat I took the mlli / mnin jit l r-rbat

train.
ddit t-tran.
I have been sick since I came to mlli jit l r-rbat u ana
Rabat.
mrida.
who / whom / which / that
l-li
The man who is sitting at that

table is my friend.
r-rajl l-li gals f dik

t-tbla sabi.
The book that I read is

important.
l-ktab l-li qrit muhimm.
until
tta
I wont sleep until I finish this

book.
ma-adi- n-ns tta

n-kmml had l-ktab.
as soon as
ir
As soon as I finished my work I

went out.
ir kmmlt l-xdma dyali u

xrjt.
whenever
wqt mma
Whenever I am upset I cry.
wqt mma tqllqt kan-bki.
although / even though
waxxa
Although John is not a Muslim

he fasts.
waxxa John mai muslim

kay-sum.
but
welakin
I want to help you but I cant.
bit n-awnk welakin

ma-qddit-.
before
qbl ma
This conjunction requires the present tense without the prefix ka (

I always read before I sleep.
dima kan-qra qbl ma

n-ns.
after
bd ma
), even if the past is referred to.
In sentences having this conjunction, the verb of the subsequent phrase has to be in the same tense as
the first one.
After I went home, I showered.
bd ma mit l d-dar,
duwt.
that
blli
I knew that you werent there.
rft blli ma-knti-.
156 Moroccan Arabic
it
since / when / because
Since you had a lot of work, why it ndk l-xdma bzzaf

la miti l s-sinima?
did you go to the cinema?
When I was in Marrakech I went
to the Menara.
it knt f Marrakech mit

l l-Menara.
I went to the doctor because I

was sick.
mit l t-tbib it knt

mrid.
because
laqqa
He didnt go to school because

he didnt wake up early.
ma-ma- l l-mdrasa
laqqa ma-faq- bkri.
without
bla ma
They talked without thinking.
hdru bla ma y-fkru.
wherever
fin mma
Wherever there is water there is

life.
fin mma kayn l-ma, kayna

l-ayat.
then
ad
I ate then slept.
klit ad nst.
Exercise: Fill in the blanks with the appropriate conjunction from the list.
ba
it
mlli
laqqa
ad
tta
blli
we bla ma l-li welakin qbl
1. ma-adi- n-safr ____ t-ji.
2. xssk t-rfi ____ tta i aja masiba.
3. bit n-duw ____ n-rta.
4. bau y-rfu ____ kayna i mdrasa hna.
5. d-dwa ____ stmlt mzyan.
6. ____ kant mrida mat l nd t-tbib.
7. bat t-ufu ____ ma-ndha- l-wqt.
8. fkkr ____ jawb.
9. l-mdina ____ knt sakn fiha kbira.
10. ktbt bra ____ nst.
10
11. kay-akul ____ y-sl yddih ____

kay-akul b l-frita.
11
12. ma-safrat- ____ ma-ndha- l-flus.
12
More Useful Expressions

You were given some useful expressions on pages 19 to 21. Here are more expressions, including many
God phrases.
God Phrases
May God bless your parents.
(used often when asking for a service /
information or to express gratitude to
someone)
lla y-rm l-walidin.
Our parents and yours. (a
walidina u walidik.
response to the above)
May God cure you. (used to show

sympathy toward a sick person)
lla y-afi.
May God not show you any

harm. (a response to the above)
lhla y-wrrik bas.
May God magnify the good

deeds. (used to offer condolences for
ajarakum llah.
someones death)
May God make your child a

good person. (used to complement a lla y-sl.
parent on his/her child)
May God grant you grace. (used

when saying goodbye to a friend or
congratulating him/her on a job well
done)
tbark llah lik.
May God grant you grace.
lla y-bark fik.
I swear to God. (expresses that

what you said was true)
ullah.
Used to express excuse me when

someone does something for you, such
as: hands you socks or shoes, pours
water over your hands to wash them,
etc. It is also used when the speaker
mentions words like donkey or trash.
aak.
May God grant you pride and

honor. (used as a response to the
zzk llah.
above)
Used on the arrival of somebody

la slamtk.
after a trip.
Response to the above.
lla y-sllmk.
May God make your life easier.
lla y-shl.
(said to beggars)
Other Expressions
Would you please help me?
we ymkn lik t-awnni?
If you dont mind.
ila jat la xatrk.
158 Moroccan Arabic
It is my pleasure.
la r-ras u l-in.
Youre welcome.
la ukran la wajib.
God forgives.
lla y-sam.
It is all right. (no harm done)
i bas ma kayn.
There is no harm. (response to

apology)
ma fiha bas.
Thats fine.
d-dnya hanya.
Im going on ...
adi n-mi nhar...
and Ill be back on ...
u adi n-rj nhar...
Really ?/!
bss ?/!
Its shameful.
uma
Shame on you.
uma lik.
Its none of your business.
mai lk.
Hurry up.
srbi / dya / tlq rask.
You are right.
ndk l-qq.
I agree with you.
ana mttafq mak.
Watch out!
ndak!
Move aside.
balak.
How do we say ... in Arabic?
kifa kan-gulu ... b

l-rbiya.
Is there another word?
we kayna i klma xura?
Is there an easy word?
we kayna i klma
sahla?
Moroccan Holidays
Holidays in Morocco are extremely important and festive occasions. Women and girls have henna
parties and come out of their houses to celebrate. Visitors are entertained and gifts are exchanged
among friends. Particular religious rites are performed. Special sweets and foods are washed down by
glass after glass of mint tea as everyone gets caught up in the socializing and celebrating.
Religious Holidays
There are both religious and civil holidays in Morocco. The Gregorian calendar, based on solar
computation, is used for civil purposes. This is the calendar Westerners generally use.
The Islamic calendar, based on lunar computation, divides the year into twelve months which
reoccur in varying relationship to the Gregorian year and complete their cycle every thirty years of 355
days. These thirty-year cycles consist of nineteen years of 354 days and eleven years of 355 days. Thus,
the Islamic calendar gains 10 to 11 days a year on the Gregorian year.
This calendar is called the Hegiran calendar because its starting point was the hegira, when
Mohamed fled from Mecca in 622 of the Gregorian calendar. This calendar is used for religious
purposes in Morocco.
Month
Transcription
Name
1st
muarram
2nd
safar
3rd
rabi l-luwl
4th
rabi t-tani
5th
jumada l-luwla
6th
jumada t-tanya
7th
rajab
8th
aban
9th
ramadan
10th
uwal
11th
du l-qida
12th
du l-ijja
Arabic
Festivals
10th of the month: aura
12th of the month: l di-mulud
15th of the month: bana
1st of the month: l-id s-sir
10th of the month: l-id l-kbir
Here are descriptions of the major festivals:
aura
muarram, the first month of the Islamic year, is in Morocco called hr aura, the month of the
arua. It has derived this name from the feast on the tenth day of the month. This day, called nhar
aura is the Islamic New Years Day. It is said that Allah created Adam and Eve, heaven and hell, and
life and death on the 10th.
The month of arua is rich in magical qualities. The ninth and particularly the tenth day are
blessed days, and on the latter, many sacred or wonderful events are said to have taken place in the
160 Moroccan Arabic

past. In Morocco, baraka is also generally ascribed to those days. Magic, good, or evil is extensively
practiced on the arua day and on the preceding night which is said to favor witches. People gather
and many wear masks and costumes and speak in disguised voices on the night before the arua. It is
believed that magic practiced at this time of year will produce an effect which lasts for the whole year.
Good food has a place in the rejoicing of arua, in accordance with the traditional saying of the
Prophet, Who give the plenty to his household on the arua day, God will bestow plenty upon him
throughout the remainder of the year. Cow, bullock, goat, sheep, dried dates, and eggs are fixed
according to local custom. Visits to the graves of relatives and alms-giving are common at this time.
Of great interest are the fire and water rites practiced at arua, to which purificatory and other
beneficial effects are ascribed. On arua eve, the bonfire night fires are built throughout the town
and the people sing and dance around them. The chief object of the rite is to purify men and animals or
to protect them from evil influences, since there is baraka (blessings) from those fires.
Similar effects are attributed to the water rites which even more frequently are practiced on the
following morning. It is a general belief that there is baraka in all water on this morning. To take a bath
on the morning of the arua day is a very wide-spread custom, and in many cases it was expressly
said that it must be done before sunrise. Children are traditionally involved in this festival. They
dress-up, play small drums, and are given gifts during this holiday.
id l-mulud
In Morocco, the third month of the Islamic year is called hr l-mulud, the month of the mulud.
These names are given because of the feast celebrating the birth of the Prophet which commences on
the twelfth day of the month and lasts for several days. The mulud is a particularly blessed month and
all children born during it are considered fortunate.
The Prophets Birthday has more significance in Morocco because Morocco is a Kingdom rather
than a republic, and King Mohamed VI is a descendant of the Prophet. The anniversary is brilliantly
celebrated at the Imperial Palace in Rabat and in the evening in Sale a great procession of candles takes
place.
In Meknes the Aissaoua brotherhood has its own unique celebration worth seeing. Followers of the
holy man, l-hadi Ben Aissa throng to Meknes and play music, dance, celebrate and make what is called
the small pilgrimage to nearby saints tombs.
bana
The eighth month of the Moroccan year is called ban. On the fifteenth day a festival known as
bana takes place. According to legend, this is the day that Allah registers all the actions of mankind
which they are to perform during the year and all the children of men who are to be born and die in the
year.
Traditionally, barren women gather in homes in the neighborhood and cook a couscous meal with
special spices. This meal is eaten by the women and children at home or in the mosque. The barren
women in the group hope this will help them to give birth during the upcoming year.
bana is also the month before the month of fasting, Ramadan. People think of the difficult
month ahead and have a feast. Craftsmen guilds often have parties on this night involving music and
feasting.
laylatu l-qadr
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic year. The most important feature of Ramadan is the
complete abstinence from food, drink and sexual activity from daybreak to sunset. Every Muslim who
has reached the age of puberty must fast. Pregnant women, menstruating women, travelers, and those
who are ill are exempt from fasting, but should make it up at a later date.

According Islam, there is one night in Ramadan which is more important than any other, namely,
laylatu l-qadr, the night of power. The Koran is said to have been sent down to the Prophet on
that night. This night is one of the last ten nights of Ramadan, but its exact date has not been
discovered by anyone but the Prophet himself. Tradition fixes it to be one of the odd nightsthe 21st,
23rd, 25th, 27th, or 29thand in Morocco it is celebrated on the 27th day.
On the night of the 27th, the men go to the mosque to pray. From sundown to daybreak, the imam
(the prayer leader) reads the Koran. The complete Koran is read before the sun rises. It is believed by
some that the sky will open up during this night and wishes will ascend directly to Allah and be
granted. During the night, special meals of couscous are prepared and brought to the mosques. Those
unable to go to the mosque eat specially prepared meals at home. Each family gives part of the meal to
the poor.
l-id s-sir
Immediately following Ramadan is l-id s-sir, or the little feast. Everyone stays up very late
hoping to hear the announcement that the new moon has been sighted and Ramadan and fasting are
over. When it has officially been sighted, a three-day festival ensues in which alms-giving plays a major
role. The alms usually consist of food items like wheat or barley, and each family does the best it can.
The chief religious rite of the feast is a prayer service at the mosque.
l-id l-kbir
On the tenth day of the month du l-ijja, the last month of the year, the Islamic world
celebrates its yearly sacrificial feast. In Morocco it is known as l-id l-kbir or the great feast.
This is the central feast in Islam, comparable to and derived from the feast of the atonement,
Abrahams substitute sacrifice, for the remission of sins. Hence, the animal sacrificed must be mature
and without blemish.
Every family must have its own sheep just as Americans need turkeys for the proper celebration of
Thanksgiving. Those who cannot afford a sheep buy a lamb or another less expensive animal. In
Morocco, the animal cannot be slain until the King has killed his sheep. Then in each household, the
head of the family kills the sheep (sometimes a butcher is asked to come to the house and perform the
ritual). The sheep is eaten in an orderly fashion determined by local custom. For example, on the first
day, the liver, heart, stomach, and lungs are eaten. On the second day, normally the head and feet are
eaten. However, the head and feet can be eaten on the first day if that is the local custom. There are
purification and sanctification customs and rites that prepare the people for the holy feast and its
principal feature, the sacrifice. People must purify and sanctify themselves in order to benefit from the
holy feast and its sacrifice. Personal cleanliness should be observed. Men and boys visit the barber and
often make a trip to the hammam as well.
Henna is used not merely as a cosmetic, but as a means of protection against evil influences.
Women paint their hands with it and, in many cases, also their feet. Among some ethnic groups, henna
is also applied to domestic animals.
Alms-giving and prayer are two other purification rites practiced during the great feast. Gifts are
exchanged between family members and a portion of the meal is given to the poor. The day begins with
prayer. The chief praying ceremony takes place in the morning at the mosque.
Moussems
Many Moroccan communities commemorate local saints, or marabous, in a yearly festival or
moussem. Most moussems are held near the tomb of the marabou and involve music, dancing and
fantasia. For a very famous marabous moussem, people will come from very far away. Some very
famous moussems celebrate Moulay Bouchaib (near El Jadida), Moulay Brahim (near Marrakech),
Moulay Yaqub (Fes), and Moulay Idriss (Moulay Idriss). Many towns have their own moussems
known only to those in the region.
162 Moroccan Arabic
National Holidays
In addition to the religious holidays, some important civil holidays commemorating significant
events in Moroccos recent history are celebrated. The most important of these are Independence Day,
the Throne feast, Green March Day, and King Mohameds birthday.
The Festival of the Throne, or id l-r, is the biggest of the civil holidays. This festival
commemorates the coming to power of the King on July 30, 1999. Celebrations including parades with
nationalistic anthems, usually occur in the cities with local government officials, like the governor,
making appearances. Traditionally during this holiday, country people come to visit their city relatives,
who are expected to feed and house them for the duration of the festival. There is often a special
emphasis on improving the appearance of the town prior to this holiday. City employees clean streets
and paint walls, and townspeople are sometimes required by government officials to paint their doors,
whitewash their houses, and display flags.
Green March Day is also celebrated by large parades in most of Morocco. This day commemorates
one of the greatest achievements of King Hassan II: the mobilization of 350,000 Moroccans for the
march into the Sahara territory. On November 6, 1975, the first Moroccan marchers, under the
leadership of the then Prime Minister Ahmed Osman, set out from Tarfaya and entered the Spanish
territory. During the celebration, those who went on the actual march once again dress up in green and
re-enact the march.
Independence Day, or l di-istiqlal, commemorates the November 18, 1956 return of
Mohamed V from his French-imposed exile in Madagascar. This day gives rise to receptions at the
Imperial Palace and parades and celebrations all over Morocco.
The last of these major national holidays celebrates the Kings Birthday, August 21, 1962. There are
many organized celebrations in Rabat and broadcasts on the radio praising the King.
Regional Festivals
There are also many regional festivals which are centered around a particular product in which a
region specializes. The product is displayed and sold; music and other activities take place in an
atmosphere similar to a country fair.
Some famous regional festivals are the Cherry Festival in Sefrou, the Date Festival in Erfoud, the
Rose Festival in El-Kelaa MGouna (near Ouarzazate), the Marrakech Folklore and Music Festival, and
the Immouzer Honey Festival (near Agadir).
One of the most interesting festivals in Morocco is the re-enactment of an ancient market in the
High Atlas mountains. At one time, these very isolated High Atlas tribes would gather yearly at a
specific point near Imilchil where many mountain paths met for the yearly market. Provisions for
many months were bought and sold and at one time one of the reasons for coming was to acquire a
bride. Men would meet a girl for the first time and pay her dowry then take her home. Some say this
practice still exists and others say it is just a re-enactment for tourists, but in any case, it is a large
market where many Berbers still buy many of the coming years provisions.
Religious, civil, and regional festivals are an excellent chance to get out and see interesting things,
meet people on an informal basis, and have fun. Dates of these celebrations can be obtained from the
national tourist office branches in many cities, but people in your community will usually provide you
with the information about your region.
It should be noted that the same festival may be celebrated somewhat differently in various sections
of the country. For example, in Errachidia Province, a far greater emphasis is put on Green March Day
than in other sections of Morocco because that province provided the first contingent for the march.
Be sure to check out the expectations of your community for a particular holiday, particularly in
terms of visitation, entertaining, gift-giving, and participation, so you can get as involved as possible
and enjoy the holidays.
Glossary of Verbs
This glossary provides both the present tense and past tense conjugations for the subject I, making it
possible for you to determine how to conjugate irregular verbs.
English
Transcription
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
absent, to be
ab
kan-ib
bt
able, to be
qdr
kan-qdr
qdrt
absorb
rb
kan-rb
rbt
kan-sqqt
sqqtt
kan-qbl
qblt
abort (a fetus)
accept
sqqt
qbl
accomplish
qqeq
kan-qqeq
qqeqt
accuse
ttahm
kan-ttahm
ttahmt
accustom
tuwd
kan-tuwd
tuwdt
kan-wllf
wllft
wj
kan-wj
wjt
drr
kan-drr
drrit
tarf b
kan-tarf
tarft
tarf ma
kan-tarf
tarft
trrf ma
kan-trrf
trrft
kan-zid
zdt
wllf
ache
acknowledge
acquaint with, become
acquainted with, sth/sb
add
zad
adopt (a child, an idea)
tbnna
kan-tbnna
tbnnit
advance
tqddm
kan-tqddm
tqddmt
kan-ns
nst
advise
ns
affect
attr la
kan-attr
attrt
afraid (of), to be
xaf (mn)
kan-xaf
xft
age (get old)
rf
kan-rf
rft
agree (with)
ttafq (ma)
kan-ttafq
ttafqt
nt
kan-nt
ntt
dk
kan-dk
dkt
amuse
analyze
llel
kan-llel
llelt
angry, to be
tqllq
kan-tqllq
tqllqt
annoy
sdd
kan-sdd
sddt
answer
jawb
kan-jawb
jawbt
appear
ban
kan-ban
bnt
applaud
sffq
kan-sffq
sffqt
164 Moroccan Arabic
English
apply (a rule, an idea)
apply for (a job)
appoint
approach
argue (with)
Transcription
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
tbbq
kan-tbbq
tbbqt
qddm talab
kan-qddm
qddmt
iyn
kan-iyn
iynt
qrrb mn
kan-qrrb
qrrbt
kan-txasm
txasmt
kan-rttb
rttbt
txasm (ma)
arrange
rttb
arrest sb
dd
kan-dd
ddit
bs
kan-bs
bst
qbt la
kan-qbt
qbtt
wsl
kan-wsl
wslt
kan-wssl
wsslt
kan-tl
tlt
kan-suwl
suwlt
kan-xtb
xtbt
kan-rkkb
rkkbt
kan-hjm
hjmt
kan-awl
awlt
kan-dr
drt
kan-rdd l-bal
rddit l-bal
kan-di rasi
dit rasi
arrive
arrive, to make
ascend
ask
wssl
tl
suwl
ask (in marriage)
xtb
assemble (parts)
rkkb
attack
hjm la
attempt
awl
attend
dr f
attention, pay
rdd l-bal
da rasu
avoid
tjnnb
kan-tjnnb
tjnnbt
banter
tflla
kan-tflla
tfllit
bargain
tttr
kan-tttr
tttrt
bark
nb
kan-nb
nbt
bathe
sl
kan-sl
slt
kan-tmmem
tmmemt
kan-kun
knt
kan-tbbl
tbblt
kan-lb
lbt
tmmem
be
beat (drum)
beat sb (in a game)
kan
tbbl
lb
become
wlla
kan-wlli
wllit
become accustomed
wllf
kan-wllf
wllft
kan-tsab
tsabt
rb
kan-rb
rbt
tlb
kan-tlb
tlbt
befriend
beg
tsab ma
English
begin
Transcription
bda
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
kan-bda
bdit
belch/burp
tgrr
kan-tgrr
tgrrt
believe sb
tiyq
kan-tiyq
tiyqt
believe (in)
amn (b)
kan-amn
amnt
kan-stafd
stafdt
kan-xun
xnt
kan-kbbr
kbbrt
benefit (from)
betray
bigger, to make
stafd (mn)
xan
kbbr
birth, to give
wld
kan-wld
wldt
bite
dd
kan-dd
ddit
blow up (with air)
nfx
kan-nfx
nfxt
blow up (explode)
frg
kan-frg
frgt
boil
lla
kan-lli
llit
born, to be
tzad
kan-tzad
tzadt
kan-tsllf
tsllft
kan-dr
drt
kan-hrrs
hrrst
borrow
bow
break
tsllf
dr
hrrs
broken, to be
thrrs
kan-thrrs
thrrst
break down (machine)
txssr
kan-txssr
txssrt
breathe
tnffs
kan-tnffs
tnffst
bring
jab
kan-jib
jbt
brush (hair)
mt
kan-mt
mtt
build
bna
kan-bni
bnit
burn
rq
kan-rq
rqt
burnt, to be
trq
kan-trq
trqt
burst (pipe)
tfrg
kan-tfrg
tfrgt
bury
dfn
kan-dfn
dfnt
buy
ra
kan-ri
rit
call
iyt l/la
kan-iyt
iytt
drb t
tilifun
kan-drb
drbt
iyt l
kan-iyt
iytt
kan-thnna
thnnit
kan-qdr
qdrt
kan-xiym
xiymt
call on the phone
calm, to be (to not

worry)
can
camp
thnna
qdr
xiym
166 Moroccan Arabic
English
capture
care of, to take
Transcription
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
qbt
kan-qbt
qbtt
thla f
kan-thla
thlat
carry
hzz
kan-hzz
hzzit
carve (wood)
nq
kan-nq
nqt
kan-srrf
srrft
cash
srrf
catch
dd
kan-dd
ddit
qbt
kan-qbt
qbtt
xlt la
kan-xlt
xltt
lq la
kan-lq
lqt
kan-sbbeb
sbbebt
kan-tsbbeb
tsbbebt
kan-tafl
taflt
catch up (with)
cause
sbbeb
tsbbeb f
celebrate
tafl b
censor (prices, film)
raqb
kan-raqb
raqbt
change
bddl
kan-bddl
bddlt
change (money)
srrf
kan-srrf
srrft
change (weather)
tbddl
kan-tbddl
tbddlt
charge of, to be in
tkllf b
kan-tkllf
tkllft
cheat
kan-
it
cheat (exam)
nql
kan-nql
nqlt
cheat out of
mt
kan-mt
mtt
chew
md
kan-md
mdt
xtar
kan-xtar
xtarit
mxd
kan-mxd
mxdt
sffq
kan-sffq
sffqt
kan-r
rt
wdd
kan-wdd
wddt
clean
nqqa
kan-nqqi
nqqit
clean (pipes)
srr
kan-srr
srrt
choose
churn
clap
clarify
climb
tl
kan-tl
tlt
clog
xnq
kan-xnq
xnqt
close
sdd
kan-sdd
sddit
close eyes
mmd
kan-mmd
mmdt
cold, to make
brrd
kan-brrd
brrdt
kan-rib
rbt
collapse
rab
English
Transcription
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
collect
jm
kan-jm
jmt
come
ja
kan-ji
jit
comment
llq
kan-llq
llqt
compare
qarn bin
kan-qarn
qarnt
complain about
tkka mn
kan-tkka
tkkit
tkka la
kan-tkka
tkkit
complain to
complete
kmml
kan-kmml
kmmlt
concentrate
rkkz
kan-rkkz
rkkzt
kay-hmm
hmm
concern
hmm
concerned with, to be
httm b
kan-httm
httmt
confess
tarf
kan-tarf
tarft
confuse
iyr
kan-iyr
iyrt
kan-ir
rt
confused, to be
ar
congratulate
hnna
kan-hnni
hnnit
conjugate
srrf
kan-srrf
srrft
kan-rbt
rbtt
kan-tawr
tawrt
kan-tasl
taslt
connect
consult (with)
contact
rbt
tawr (ma)
tasl b
content with, to be (give

your blessing to)
rda la
kan-rdi
rdit
continue in sth
stamr f
kan-stamr
stamrt
continue studies
tab
kan-tab
tabt
contribute
sahm
kan-sahm
sahmt
kan-tkkm
tkkmt
raqb
kan-raqb
raqbt
tiyb
kan-tiyb
tiybt
kan-tawn
tawnt
kan-sllk
sllkt
control
cook
cooperate (with)
cope
tkkm f
tawn (ma)
sllk
copy (by hand)
nql
kan-nql
nqlt
copy (photocopy)
nsx
kan-nsx
nsxt
kan-se
set
correct
se
cost
swa
kan-swa
swit
cough
kan-k
kit
kb
kan-kb
kbt
sb
kan-sb
sbt
count
168 Moroccan Arabic
English
Transcription
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
cram into
xa
kan-xi
xit
crazy, to be
mq
kan-mq
mqt
kan-mmq
mmqt
crazy, to make
mmq
create
xlq
kan-xlq
xlqt
cross (road)
qt
kan-qt
qtt
cross-breed
lqqm
kan-lqqm
lqqmt
kan-bki
bkit
cry
bka
cry, to make
bkka
kan-bkki
bkkit
cure
dawa
kan-dawi
dawit
cured, to be
bra
kan-bra
brit
cut
qt
kan-qt
qtt
kan-ssn
ssnt
kan-jr
jrt
cut (hair)
cut/injure (skin)
ssn
jr
cut/injured, to be
tjr
kan-tjr
tjrt
cut( a pattern from cloth)
fssl
kan-fssl
fsslt
damage
xssr
kan-xssr
xssrt
dampen
fzzg
kan-fzzg
fzzgt
damp, to get
fzg
kan-fzg
fzgt
dance
kan-t
tt
deafen
smmk
kan-smmk
smmkt
taml ma
kan-taml
tamlt
decide
qrrer
kan-qrrer
qrrert
declare
ln
kan-ln
lnt
decrease
nqs
kan-nqs
nqst
dedicate
hda
kan-hdi
hdit
defeat
lb
kan-lb
lbt
defend
daf la
kan-daf
daft
define
dded
kan-dded
ddedt
defy
tdda
kan-tdda
tddit
delay
ttl
kan-ttl
ttlt
deal with sb
deprive
rm
kan-rm
rmt
descend
hbt
kan-hbt
hbtt
nzl
kan-nzl
nzlt
wsf
kan-wsf
wsft
describe
English
Transcription
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
deserve
staq
kan-staq
staqt
design
xttet
kan-xttet
xttett
kan-mut
mtt
desire strongly
mat la
destroy
hddm
kan-hddm
hddmt
develop
tuwr
kan-tuwr
tuwrt
develop (film)
xrrj
kan-xrrj
xrrjt
kan-mut
mtt
kan-xtalf
xtalft
die
differ (from)
mat
xtalf (ma)
dig
fr
kan-fr
frt
digest
hdm
kan-hdm
hdmt
kan-ta
tit
kan-wjjh
wjjht
kan-amr
amrt
kan-wssx
wssxt
kan-tussx
tussxt
kan-br
brt
dinner, to have
direct
direct (as an order)
dirty, to make
ta
wjjh
amr
wssx
dirty, to get
tussx
disappear
br
discipline
addb
kan-addb
addbt
rbba
kan-rbbi
rbbit
kan-ktaf
ktaft
kan-naq
naqt
ma-kan-ml-
ma-mlt-
kan-krh
krht
discover
discuss (a topic)
dislike
ktaf
naq
ma-ml-
krh
dissolve sth
duwb
kan-duwb
duwbt
distribute
frrq
kan-frrq
frrqt
bd (mn)
kan-bd
bdt
kan-qsm
qsmt
kan-tllq
tllqt
kan-dux
dxt
kan-duwx
duwxt
distance oneself (from)

divide
divorce
dizzy, to get
dizzy, to make
qsm
tllq
dax
duwx
do
dar
kan-dir
drt
drag
jrr
kan-jrr
jrrit
draw
rsm
kan-rsm
rsmt
draw up (water from a

well)
jbd
kan-jbd
jbdt
lm (b)
kan-lm
lmt
dream (about)
170 Moroccan Arabic
English
dress
dress up (slang)
drink
drink, to make
Transcription
lbs
tfrks
rb
rrb
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
kan-lbs
lbst
kan-tfrks
tfrkst
kan-rb
rbt
kan-rrb
rrbt
drip
qtr
kan-qtr
qtrt
drive
sag
kan-sug
sgt
drive crazy
mmq
kan-mmq
mmqt
drop sth
tiy
kan-tiy
tiyt
drown
rq
kan-rq
rqt
drunk, to get
skr
kan-skr
skrt
dry, to get
nf
kan-nf
nft
ybs
kan-ybs
ybst
nf
kan-nf
nft
ybbs
kan-ybbs
ybbst
kan-jffef
jffeft
kan-sb
sbt
dry sth
dry (a wet floor)

dye
jffef
sb
earn (money)
suwr
kan-suwr
suwrt
easy, to make
shhl
kan-shhl
shhlt
eat
kla
kan-akul
klit
eat breakfast
ftr
kan-ftr
ftrt
eat lunch
tdda
kan-tdda
tddit
eat dinner
ta
kan-ta
tit
economize
qtasd
kan-qtasd
qtasdt
elect
ntaxb
kan-ntaxb
ntaxbt
kan-m
mt
kan-m
mt
kan-anq
anqt
kan-slm
slmt
kan-hajr
hajrt
xwa
kan-xwi
xwit
encourage
jj
kan-jj
jjt
enjoy sth
tbr
kan-tbr
tbrt
kan-tsjjl
tsjjlt
kan-dxl
dxlt
embarrass sb
embarrassed, to be
embrace
embrace Islam
emigrate
empty
m
m
anq
slm
hajr
enroll
tsjjl
enter
dxl
English
Transcription
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
envy
sd
kan-sd
sdt
erase
ms
kan-ms
mst
ma
kan-mi
mit
escape
hrb
kan-hrb
hrbt
estimate
qddr
kan-qddr
qddrt
kan-xwi
xwit
kan-xrrj
xrrjt
kan-ttuwr
ttuwrt
kan-bal
balt
kan-tbadl
tbadlt
evacuate
(house/country)
evict
evolve
exaggerate (slang)
exchange
xwa
xrrj
ttuwr
bal
tbadl ma
exhibit
rd
kan-rd
rdt
exit
xrj
kan-xrj
xrjt
expensive, to get
la
kay-la
la
kan-jrrb
jrrbt
kay-tqada
tqada
kan-r
rt
fssr
kan-fssr
fssrt
explode
tfrg
kan-tfrg
tfrgt
exploit
stal
kan-stal
stalt
export
sddr
kan-sddr
sddrt
express
bbr
kan-bbr
bbrt
txlls mn
kan-txlls
txllst
tqabl ma
kan-tqabl
tqablt
kan-shhl
shhlt
experience
jrrb
expire
tqada
explain
exterminate
face
facilitate
shhl
fail
sqt
kan-sqt
sqtt
faint
sxf
kan-sxf
sxft
fall
ta
kan-ti
tt
fall, to make
tiy
kan-tiy
tiyt
fake
zuwr
kan-zuwr
zuwrt
fart
zq
kan-zq
zqt
kan-zuwr
zuwrt
falsify
zuwr
fast
sam
kan-sum
smt
fear
xaf
kan-xaf
xft
feed
wkkl
kan-wkkl
wkklt
172 Moroccan Arabic
English
feed fodder
Transcription
llf
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
kan-llf
llft
feel
ss
kan-ss
ssit
ferment
xmr
kan-xmr
xmrt
kan-tdabz
tdabzt
kan-mr
mrt
fight (physically)
tdabz
fill (intransitive)
mr
fill out
mmr
kan-mmr
mmrt
fill up
mmr
kan-mmr
mmrt
filter
sffa
kan-sffi
sffit
finance
muwl
kan-muwl
muwlt
kan-lqa
lqit
kmml
kan-kmml
kmmlt
sala
kan-sali
salit
kan-tsala
tsalit
find
finish
finished, to be
lqa
tsala
fish
siyd
kan-siyd
siydt
fix
sawb
kan-sawb
sawbt
kan-sl
slt
kan-grrs
grrst
kan-tzzl
tzzlt
sl
flatten (bread)
flatter (a female)
grrs
tzzl b
flee
hrb
kan-hrb
hrbt
flip
qlb
kan-qlb
qlbt
fly
tar
kan-tir
trt
fold
twa
kan-twi
twit
follow
tb
kan-tb
tbt
forbid
rrm
kan-rrm
rrmt
kan-fr
frt
kan-zuwr
zuwrt
force open
forge (signature)
fr
zuwr
forget
nsa
kan-nsa
nsit
forgive
sm l
kan-sm
smt
foretell
tnbba
kan-tnbba'
tnbba't
free
rrer
kan-rrer
rrert
tlq
kan-tlq
tlqt
jmd
kan-jmd
jmdt
kan-jmmd
jmmdt
kan-qli
qlit
freeze
freeze sth
fry
jmmd
qla
English
fulfill sth
Transcription
qqeq
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
kan-qqeq
qqeqt
full (of food), to be
kan-b
bt
fun, to make
dk
kan-dk
dkt
nt
kan-nt
ntt
kan-dk
dkt
kan-tflla
tfllit
ksb
kan-ksb
ksbt
rb
kan-rb
rbt
kan-qmmr
qmmrt
kan-jm
jmt
fun of, to make
dk la
tflla la
gain
gamble
qmmr
gather
jm
gather (with people)
jtam
kan-jtam
jtamt
gaze
nzez
kan-nzez
nzezt
generalize
mmem
kan-mmem
mmemt
wlld
kan-wlld
wlldt
xda
kan-axud
xdit
dd
kan-dd
ddit
get down
hbt
kan-hbt
hbtt
get off
nzl
kan-nzl
nzlt
get on
rkb
kan-rkb
rkbt
tl
kan-tl
tlt
thnna mn
kan-thnna
thnnit
txlls mn
kan-txlls
txllst
mrd
kan-mrd
mrdt
daz mn
kan-duz
dzt
nad
kan-nud
ndt
generate
get
get rid of
get sick
get through
get up
get used to
wllf
kan-wllf
wllft
give
ta
kan-ti
tit
give a ride
dda
kan-ddi
ddit
kan-wssl
wsslt
xtb
kan-xtb
xtbt
rjj
kan-rjj
rjjt
rdd
kan-rdd
rddit
kan-tllq
tllqt
kan-drr
drrit
wssl
give a speech
give back
give off
give pain
tllq
drr
174 Moroccan Arabic
English
glare at
gleam
glue
Transcription
xnzr f
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
kan-xnzr
xnzrt
lm
kan-lm
lmt
dwa
kan-dwi
dwit
kan-lssq
lssqt
lssq
go
ma
kan-mi
mit
go ahead of/in front of
sbq
kan-sbq
sbqt
go by
daz la
kan-duz
dzt
go out
xrj
kan-xrj
xrjt
daz mn
kan-duz
dzt
tl
kan-tl
tlt
hdr f
kan-hdr
hdrt
km la
kan-km
kmt
qbt
kan-qbt
qbtt
dd
kan-dd
ddit
graze
ra
kay-ra
ra
greet
sllm la
kan-sllm
sllmt
kan-tsalm
tsalmt
go through
go up
gossip about
govern
grab
greet one another
tsalm
grill
wa
kan-wi
wit
grind
tn
kan-tn
tnt
grow (get older/bigger)
kbr
kan-kbr
kbrt
guarantee
dmn
kan-dmn
dmnt
guard
ss
kan-ss
ssit
hand
mdd
kan-mdd
mddit
hang
llq
kan-llq
llqt
hang to dry
nr
kan-nr
nrt
happen
wq
kay-wq
wq
jra
kay-jra
jra
tra
kay-tra
tra
fr
kan-fr
frt
kan-frr
frrt
kan-sd
sdt
kay-tfqqs
tfqqs
happy, to be
happy, to make
harvest
frr
sd
hatch
tfqqs
hate
krh
kan-krh
krht
have
nd
ndi
kan ndi
English
Transcription
hear
sm
heat
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
kan-sm
smt
sxxn
kan-sxxn
sxxnt
help
awn
kan-awn
awnt
herd
sr
kan-sr
srt
kan-trdded
trddedt
kan-xbba
xbbit
kan-txbba
txbbit
hesitate
trdded
hide sth
xbba
hide (oneself)
txbba
hire (a car)
kra
kan-kri
krit
hit
drb
kan-drb
drbt
kan-tdrb
tdrbt
kan-dd
ddit
kan-rrf
rrft
kan-tmnna
tmnnit
hit, to be
hold
tdrb
dd
honor
rrf
hope
tmnna
house
skkn
kan-skkn
skknt
hug
nnq
kan-nnq
nnqt
hug one another
tanq
kan-tanq
tanqt
kan-ju
jt
kan-siyd
siydt
hungry, to be
ja
hunt
siyd
hurry
zrb
kan-zrb
zrbt
hurt
drr
kan-drr
drrit
kan-miyk
miykt
kan-mrd
mrdt
mrrd
kan-mrrd
mrrdt
tsuwr
kan-tsuwr
tsuwrt
txayl
kan-txayl
txaylt
kan-qlld
qlldt
kan-stawrd
stawrdt
ignore (slang)
ill, to be
ill, to make
imagine
miyk la
mrd
imitate
qlld
import
stawrd
impose
frd
kan-frd
frdt
imprison
sjn
kan-sjn
sjnt
dd f l bs
kan-dd
ddit
kan-ssn
ssnt
tssn
kan-tssn
tssnt
improvise
rtajl
kan-rtajl
rtajlt
increase
zad
kan-zid
zdt
improve
ssn
176 Moroccan Arabic
English
Transcription
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
indicate
biyn
kan-biyn
biynt
infect
ada
kan-adi
adit
inform
lm
kan-lm
lmt
xbr
kan-xbr
xbrt
inherit
wrt
kan-wrt
wrtt
injure
jr
kan-jr
jrt
kan-ftt
fttt
kan-blasi
blasit
rkkb
kan-rkkb
rkkbt
ayr
kan-ayr
ayrt
sbb
kan-sbb
sbbit
dmj
kan-dmj
dmjt
kay-httm
httm
kan-tdxxl
tdxxlt
inspect (education)
install
insult
integrate
ftt
blasa
interest
httm
interfere
tdxxl
interrupt
qat
kan-qat
qatt
introduce
qddm
kan-qddm
qddmt
invent
xtar
kan-xtar
xtart
invite
rd la
kan-rd
rdt
kan-dded
ddedt
sga
kan-sgi
sgit
sqa
kan-sqi
sqit
kan-qllq
qllqt
kan-tqllq
tqllqt
hmm
kan-hmm
hmmt
zl
kan-zl
zlt
ar la
kan-ir
rt
dk
kan-dk
dkt
kan-tflla
tfllit
kan-km
kmt
asb
kan-asb
asbt
jump
nqqz
kan-nqqz
nqqzt
justify
brrer
kan-brrer
brrert
keep
tafd b
kan-tafd
tafdt
kan-afd
afdt
iron
irrigate
irritate
irritated, to be
isolate
jealous, to be
joke
dded
qllq
tqllq
tflla
judge
km la
afd la
English
Transcription
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
qabl d-dar
kan-qabl
qablt
gabl d-dar
kan-gabl
gablt
at
kan-ut
tt
qdf
kan-qdf
qdft
kidnap
xtf
kan-xtf
xtft
kiss
bas
kan-bus
bst
knead
jn
kan-jn
jnt
know
rf
kan-rf
rft
last (time)
bqa
kan-bqa
bqit
dam
kan-dum
dmt
keep house
kick (a ball)
late, to be
tttl
kan-tttl
tttlt
late, to make
ttl
kan-ttl
ttlt
kan-dk
dkt
kan-dk
dkt
kan-tt
ttit
laugh
laugh, to make
dk
dk
lay down
tt
lay eggs
biyd
kan-biyd
biydt
lead
tzm
kan-tzm
tzmt
leak
sal
kan-sil
slt
qtr
kan-qtr
qtrt
kan-tkka
tkkit
kan-tllm
tllmt
lean
tkka la
learn
tllm
leave
xrj
kan-xrj
xrjt
leave (a house/city for

another)
rl
kan-rl
rlt
leave alone
xlla
kan-xlli
xllit
leave behind
xlla
kan-xlli
xllit
lend
sllf
kan-sllf
sllft
lengthen
tuwl
kan-tuwl
tuwlt
kan-qllel
qllelt
kan-xlli
xllit
kan-tlq
tlqt
kan-rrer
rrert
lessen
let
qllel
xlla
let go of
tlq mn
liberate
rrer
lie
kdb
kan-kdb
kdbt
lift
hzz
kan-hzz
hzzit
light
kan-l
lt
178 Moroccan Arabic
English
Transcription
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
ba
kan-bi
knt bai
jb
kay jbni
jbni
lighten (weight)
xffef
kan-xffef
xffeft
limit
dded
kan-dded
ddedt
bs
kan-bs
bst
limp
rj
kan-rj
rjt
line, to draw a
sttr
kan-sttr
sttrt
kan-skn
sknt
kan-sllf
sllft
kan-sdd
sddit
kan-surt
surtt
kan-uf
ft
kan-thlla
thllat
kan-di
dit
like
live (reside)
skn
loan
sllf
lock
sdd
surt
look
look after
af
thlla f
da
look alike
tabh
kan-tabh
tabht
look behind
tlfft
kan-tlfft
tlfftt
kan-gr
grt
kan-qllb
qllbt
look down (on sb)
gr
look for
qllb la
look like
bh
kan-bh
bht
ban bal
kan-ban
bnt
look out (window)
tll
kan-tll
tllit
loosen
tlq
kan-tlq
tlqt
rxa
kan-rxi
rxit
rxf
kan-rxf
rxft
wddr
kan-wddr
wddrt
tllf
kan-tllf
tllft
kan-twddr
twddrt
ba
kan-bi
knt bai
mat la
kan-mut
mtt
nzzl
kan-nzzl
nzzlt
hbbt
kan-hbbt
hbbtt
nqs
kan-nqs
nqst
magnify
kbbr
kan-kbbr
kbbrt
maintain
afd la
kan-afd
afdt
lose
lost, to be
love
lower
twddr
English
make
make difficult for sb

maltreat (destroy)
manipulate
manufacture
mark
Transcription
sawb
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
kan-sawb
sawbt
dar
kan-dir
drt
sn
kan-sn
snt
kan-tkrfs
tkrfst
kan-krfs
krfst
kan-tkkm
tkkmt
kan-sn
snt
kan-nqqt
nqqtt
kan-rm
rmt
kan-tzuwj
tzuwjt
tkrfs la
krfs
tkkm
sn
nqqt
rm
marry (with)
Arabic
tzuwj (b)
marry off (daughter, etc.)
zuwj
kan-zuwj
zuwjt
massage (hammam)
kssl
kan-kssl
ksslt
mean
na
kan-ni
nit
measure
br
kan-br
brt
mediate
twsst
kan-twsst
twsstt
meet
tlaqa
kan-tlaqa
tlaqit
meeting, to have
jtam
kan-jtam
jtamt
melt
dab
kan-dub
dbt
memorize
fd
kan-fd
fdt
kan-hdded
hddedt
kan-krfs
krfst
menace
hdded
mess up
krfs
migrate
hjr
kan-hjr
hjrt
milk
lb
kan-lb
lbt
mistake, to make a
lt
kan-lt
ltt
kay-mi liya
ma liya
kan-xllt
xlltt
da
kan-di
dit
rs
kan-rs
rst
kan-takr
takrt
miss (a bus) 3rd person

mix
monitor (exam)
monopolize
ma la
xllt
takr
motivate
ffz
kan-ffz
ffzt
move sth
rrk
kan-rrk
rrkt
kz
kan-kz
kzt
trrk
kan-trrk
trrkt
tkz
kan-tkz
tkzt
move
180 Moroccan Arabic
English
Transcription
move away from
bd mn
move residence
tuwl
murder
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
kan-bd
bdt
kan-tuwl
tuwlt
rl
kan-rl
rlt
qtl
kan-qtl
qtlt
name
smma
kan-smmi
smmit
need
taj
kan-taj
tajt
kan-sm
smt
kan-frrt
frrtt
kan-sd
sdt
neglect
sm f
frrt
noise, to make
sd
nominate
kan-r
rt
notice
lad
kan-lad
ladt
obey
ta
kan-ti
tt
object
ard
kan-ard
ardt
oblige
frd la
kan-frd
frdt
kan-bzzez
bzzezt
bzzez la
observe
lad
kan-lad
ladt
occupy
tll
kan-tll
tllt
wq
kay wq
wq
jra
kay jra
jra
hda
kan-hdi
hdit
kan-ziyt
ziytt
occur
offer
oil
ziyt
old, to get
rf
kan-rf
rft
open
ll
kan-ll
llit
ft
kan-ft
ftt
ft
kan-ft
ftt
kan-ddb
ddbt
operate (surgical)
oppress
ddb
order sth
tlb
kan-tlb
tlbt
order sb
amr
kan-amr
amrt
organize
nddm
kan-nddm
nddmt
overcome
tllb la
kan-tllb
tllbt
kan-tsal
tsalt
owe
tsal
owed, to be
sal
kan-sal
slt
own
mlk
kan-mlk
mlkt
kan-hddn
hddnt
pacify
hddn
English
Transcription
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
pack
jm
kan-jm
jmt
paint
sb
kan-sb
sbt
kan-blasa
blasit
kan-ark
arkt
kan-tafl
taflt
park (a car)
blasa
participate
ark
party
tafl
pass
daz
kan-duz
dzt
fat
kan-fut
ftt
nj f
kan-nj
njt
daz la
kan-duz
dzt
kan-lssq
lssqt
kan-sbr
sbrt
kan-xlls
xllst
pass (exam)
pass by
paste
patient, to be
pay
lssq
sbr
xlls
paid, to be
txlls
kan-txlls
txllst
pay back
rdd l
kan-rdd
rddit
kan-qr
qrt
kan-tqr
tqrt
kan-xlli
xllit
sm l
kan-sm
smt
qn
kan-qn
qnt
kan-suwr
suwrt
kan-tsuwr
tsuwrt
peel
peel (skin)
permit
persuade
photograph
photographed, to be
qr
tqr
xlla
suwr
tsuwr
pick (light fruit)
jna
kan-jni
jnit
pierce
tqb
kan-tqb
tqbt
pile up
rrm
kan-rrm
rrmt
plan
xttet
kan-xttet
xttett
plant
zr
kan-zr
zrt
play
lb
kan-lb
lbt
please
jb
kan-jb
jbt
plow
rt
kan-rt
rtt
pluck
riy
kan-riy
riyt
kan-smmem
smmemt
kan-tsmmem
tsmmemt
kan-luwt
luwtt
kan-mlk
mlkt
poison
poisoned, to be
pollute
possess
smmem
tsmmem
luwt
mlk
182 Moroccan Arabic
English
postpone
pour
practice
praise
pray
precede
Transcription
ajjl
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
kan-ajjl
ajjlt
kbb
kan-kbb
kbbit
xwa
kan-xwi
xwit
kan-tbbq
tbbqt
kan-md
mdt
kan-slli
sllit
kan-sbq
sbqt
tbbq
md
slla
sbq
prefer
fddl
kan-fddl
fddlt
prepare
wjjd
kan-wjjd
wjjdt
sawb
kan-sawb
sawbt
pressure
dt
kan-dt
dtt
pretend
dar bal
kan-dir
drt
kan-biyn
biynt
biyn blli
prevent
mn
kan-mn
mnt
print
tb
kan-tb
tbt
produce
ntj
kan-ntj
ntjt
profit
rb
kan-rb
rbt
stafd
kan-stafd
stafdt
tqddm
kan-tqddm
tqddmt
kan-mn
mnt
kan-wad
wadt
kan-ntq
ntqt
progress
prohibit
mn
promise
wad
pronounce
ntq
propose
qtar
kan-qtar
qtart
proud, to be
ftaxr
kan-ftaxr
ftaxrt
prune
zbr
kan-zbr
zbrt
publish
nr
kan-nr
nrt
pull
jrr
kan-jrr
jrrit
jbd
kan-jbd
jbdt
kan-aqb
aqbt
kan-df
dft
kan-wrrk
wrrkt
brk la
kan-brk
brkt
put
tt
kan-tt
ttit
put down
tt
kan-tt
ttit
punish
push
push (a button)
aqb
df
wrrk la
English
put out (light)
put together (parts)
quarrel
quiet, to be
quiet, to make
Transcription
tfa
rkkb
txasm
skt
skkt
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
kan-tfi
tfit
kan-rkkb
rkkbt
kan-txasm
txasmt
kan-skt
sktt
kan-skkt
skktt
kan-mi bali
mit bali
quit
ma balu
rain
ta (l-ta)
kat-ti
tat
raise
hzz
kan-hzz
hzzit
kan-rbbi
rbbit
raise (children)
rbba
raised, to be
trbba
kan-trbba
trbbit
rape
tasb
kan-tasb
tasbt
read
qra
kan-qra
qrit
receive (a letter)
dd
kan-dd
ddit
kan-trrf
trrft
kan-sjjl
sjjlt
recognize
trrf
record
sjjl
reduce
nqs
kan-nqs
nqst
reform
sl
kan-sl
slt
refuse
rfd
kan-rfd
rfdt
refute
nfa
kan-nfi
nfit
regret
ndm
kan-ndm
ndmt
kan-uwd
uwdt
kan-fr
frt
kan-rta
rtat
kan-tlq
tlqt
kan-uwl
uwlt
reimburse
rejoice
relax
uwd
fr
rta
release
tlq
rely on
uwl la
remain
bqa
kan-bqa
bqit
ql la
kan-ql
qlt
kan-tfkkr
tfkkrt
remember
tfkkr
remind
fkkr
kan-fkkr
fkkrt
remove
iyd
kan-iyd
iydt
zuwl
kan-zuwl
zuwlt
kan-jdded
jddedt
kan-kri
krit
renew
rent
jdded
kra
184 Moroccan Arabic
English
repair
Transcription
sawb
sl
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
kan-sawb
sawbt
kan-sl
slt
kan-awd
awdt
repeat
awd
repent
tab
kan-tub
tbt
reply
rdd
kan-rdd
rddit
request
tlb mn
kan-tlb
tlbt
require
ttlb
kan-ttlb
ttlbt
kan-bh
bht
kan-staql
staqlt
kan-qawm
qawmt
kan-tarm
tarmt
resemble
bh
resign
staql
resist
qawm
respect
tarm
respond
jawb
kan-jawb
jawbt
rest
rta
kan-rta
rtat
kan-tqad
tqadt
retire
tqad
return (to a place)
rj
kan-rj
rjt
return sth
rdd
kan-rdd
rddit
rjj
kan-rjj
rjjt
raj
kan-raj
rajt
ride
rkb
kan-rkb
rkbt
ride, to give a
dda
kan-ddi
ddit
rkkb
kan-rkkb
rkkbt
wssl
kan-wssl
wsslt
kan-llel
llelt
review
rinse
llel
rise (like the sun)
tl
kan-tl
tlt
rise (to wake up)
faq
kan-fiq
fqt
rot
fsd
kan-fsd
fsdt
kan-duwr
duwrt
round, to go
duwr
rub
kk
kan-kk
kkit
run
jra
kan-jri
jrit
run away
hrb
kan-hrb
hrbt
run out of
tqada
kan-tqada
tqadit
kan-zrb
zrbt
kan-di
dit
kan-qn
qnt
rush
sacrifice
satisfy
zrb
da
qn
English
save
save (money)
Transcription
xbba
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
kan-xbbi
xbbit
xzn
kan-xzn
xznt
xbb
kan-xbb
xbbt
kan-jm
jmt
kan-wffr
wffrt
jm l flus
wffr
say
gal
kan-gul
glt
scratch
kk
kan-kk
kkit
scream
uwt
kan-uwt
uwtt
screw
ziyr
kan-ziyr
ziyrt
kan-uf
ft
kan-tawf
tawft
kan-bi
bt
see
see one another
sell
af
tawf
ba
send
sift
kan-sift
siftt
separate
frrq
kan-frrq
frrqt
serve
srba
kan-srbi
srbit
set a bone
jbbr
kan-jbbr
jbbrt
kan-rb
rbt
kan-rkkb
rkkbt
kan-staqr
staqrt
xiyt
kan-xiyt
xiytt
trd
kan-trd
trdt
kan-rjf
rjft
sllm la
kan-sllm
sllmt
rrk
kan-rrk
rrkt
set (the sun)
rb
set up
rkkb
settle
staqr
sew
shake (palsy)
rjf
shake hands with
shake out
share
qsm
kan-qsm
qsmt
sharpen
njr
kan-njr
njrt
mdda
kan-mddi
mddit
ssn
kan-ssn
ssnt
shave
shepherd
sr
kan-sr
srt
shine
lm
kan-lm
lmt
shiver
trd
kan-trd
trdt
kan-rjf
rjft
rjf
shop (weekly market)
tsuwq
kan-tsuwq
tsuwqt
shop (food)
tqdda
kan-tqdda
tqddit
186 Moroccan Arabic
English
Transcription
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
shorten
qssr
kan-qssr
qssrt
shout
uwt
kan-uwt
uwtt
shovel
hzz b l bala
kan-hzz
hzzit
show
wrra
kan-wrri
wrrit
shower
duw
kan-duw
duwt
kan-sdd
sddit
kan-mmd
mmdt
kan-skt
sktt
kan-rbl
rblt
kan-tsara
tsarit
sna
kan-sni
snit
wqq
kan-wqq
wqqt
skkt
kan-skkt
skktt
kan-skt
sktt
shut
shut eyes
shut up
sift
sightsee
sign
silence sb
silent, to be
sdd
mmd
skt
rbl
tsara
skt
simplify
shhl
kan-shhl
shhlt
sing
nna
kan-nni
nnit
sink
ts
kan-ts
tst
rq
kan-rq
rqt
sit
gls
kan-gls
glst
skin
slx
kan-slx
slxt
skip
nqqz
kan-nqqz
nqqzt
slap (in the face)
srfq
kan-srfq
srfqt
trr
kan-trr
trrt
slaughter
db
kan-db
dbt
sleep
ns
kan-ns
nst
kan-ns
nst
sleep, to make
ns
slide
zlq
kan-zlq
zlqt
slip
zlq
kan-zlq
zlqt
kan-lttx
lttxt
kan-mm
mmit
kan-btasm
btasmt
kan-kmi
kmit
smear
lttx
smell
mm
smile
btasm
smoke
kma
smuggle
hrrb
kan-hrrb
hrrbt
sneeze
ts
kan-ts
tst
English
Transcription
solder
lm
solve
ll
speak
tkllm
specialize
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
kan-lm
lmt
kan-ll
llit
kan-tkllm
tkllmt
hdr
kan-hdr
hdrt
dwa
kan-dwi
dwit
kan-txsses
txssest
txsses
spend money
srf
kan-srf
srft
spend the night
bat
kan-bat
btt
kan-duwz
duwzt
spend time
duwz
spin
zl
kan-zl
zlt
spit
dfl
kan-dfl
dflt
splash
kan-r
rit
kan-fe
fet
spoil (a child)
fe
sprain
df
kan-df
dft
spray
kan-r
rit
squeeze
sr
kan-sr
srt
ziyr
kan-ziyr
ziyrt
stamp
tb
kan-tb
tbt
stand
wqf
kan-wqf
wqft
kan-xnzr
xnzrt
stare angrily
xnzr f
start
bda
kan-bda
bdit
startle
xl
kan-xl
xlt
txl
kan-txl
txlt
bqa
kan-bqa
bqit
gls
kan-gls
glst
stay up late
shr
kan-shr
shrt
steal
srq
kan-srq
srqt
ffr
kan-ffr
ffrt
ft
kan-ft
ftt
fs
kan-fs
fst
sting
qrs
kan-qrs
qrst
stink
xnz
kan-xnz
xnzt
kan-rrk
rrkt
startled, to be
stay
step on
stir
rrk
188 Moroccan Arabic
English
stop
stop speaking with
Transcription
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
wqf
kan-wqf
wqft
bs
kan-bs
bst
kan-txasm
txasmt
txasm ma
store
xzn
kan-xzn
xznt
strangle
qjj
kan-qjj
qjjit
xnq
kan-xnq
xnqt
dar l idrab
kan-dir
drt
kan-tma
tmit
jbbd
kan-jbbd
jbbdt
kssl
kan-kssl
ksslt
qra
kan-qra
qrit
drs
kan-drs
drst
nj f
kan-nj
njt
suck
mss
kan-mss
mssit
sue
da
kan-di
dit
strike (from work)

stroll
stretch
study
succeed at
tma
suffer
tddb
kan-tddb
tddbt
suggest
qtar
kan-qtar
qtart
sunbathe
tmm
kan-tmm
tmmt
surprise
faj'a
kan-faj'a
faj'at
kan-staslm
staslmt
nja
kan-nja
njit
kan-i
swallow
srt
kan-srt
srtt
swarm (bees)
rt
kan-rt
rtt
lf b llah
kan-lf
lft
kan-ahd
ahdt
surrender
survive
swear
staslm
ahd
swear (oath)
qsm
kan-qsm
qsmt
sweat
rg
kan-rg
rgt
rq
kan-rq
rqt
ttb
kan-ttb
ttbt
kan-tnffx
tnffxt
sweep
swell
tnffx
swim
am
kan-um
tm
switch (off)
tfa
kan-tfi
tfit
switch (on)
kan-l
lt
English
sympathize with
take
take away/off
Transcription
tatf ma
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
kan-tatf
tatft
xda
kan-axud
xdit
iyd
kan-iyd
iydt
zuwl
kan-zuwl
zuwlt
take care of
thlla f
kan-thlla
thllat
take charge of
tkllf b
kan-tkllf
tkllft
tkllm
kan-tkllm
tkllmt
kan-hdr
hdrt
talk
hdr
talk nonsense
xrbq
kan-xrbq
xrbqt
tame
ruwd
kan-ruwd
ruwdt
tape (record)
sjjl
kan-sjjl
sjjlt
tape (scotch)
lssq
kan-lssq
lssqt
kan-duq
dqt
taste
daq
teach
qrra
kan-qrri
qrrit
llm
kan-llm
llmt
tear something
qtt
kan-qtt
qtt
t
tear (to be torn)
tqtt
kan-tqtt
tqtt
t
qb
kan-qb
qbt
kan-tflla
tfllit
kan-iyt
iytt
kan-drb
drbt
kan-gul
glt
kan-awd
awdt
kan-dub
dbt
kan-fkkr
fkkrt
kan-xmmem
xmmemt
kan-dnn
dnnit
kan-hdded
hddedt
tease
tflla
telephone
iyt f
tell
drb t
tilifun
gal
awd
thaw
dab
think
fkkr
xmmem
think that
dnn blli
threaten
hdded
thresh
drs
kan-drs
drst
throw
la
kan-lu
lt
rma
kan-rmi
rmit
tickle
hrr
kan-hrr
hrrit
tie
rbt
kan-rbt
rbtt
tie (belt)
zm
kan-zm
zmt
190 Moroccan Arabic
English
Transcription
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
tighten
ziyr
kan-ziyr
ziyrt
tired, to be
ya
kan-ya
yit
tired, to make
iya
kan-iya
iyit
torture
ddb
kan-ddb
ddbt
touch
qas
kan-qis
qst
mss
kan-mss
mssit
trade
tajr
kan-tajr
tajrt
train
drrb
kan-drrb
drrbt
translate
trjm
kan-trjm
trjmt
travel
safr
kan-safr
safrt
kan-taml
tamlt
treat (people)
taml ma
trick
mt
kan-mt
mtt
trip
tr
kan-tr
trt
trust
taq f
kan-tiq
tqt
try (to attempt to do sth)
awl
kan-awl
awlt
try (to experience sth)
jrrb
kan-jrrb
jrrbt
try on
qiys
kan-qiys
qiyst
kan-dur
drt
duwr
kan-duwr
duwrt
nqs mn
kan-nqs
nqst
turn off
tfa
kan-tfi
tfit
turn on
kan-l
lt
turn over sth
qlb
kan-qlb
qlbt
glb
kan-glb
glbt
twist
lwa
kan-lwi
lwit
understand
fhm
kan-fhm
fhmt
turn
turn around
turn down (volume)
dar
understand, to make
fhhm
kan-fhhm
fhhmt
unite
wd
kan-wd
wdt
upset
qllq
kan-qllq
qllqt
kan-tqllq
tqllqt
kan-staml
stamlt
upset, to be
use
tqllq
staml
use (land)
stal
kan-stal
stalt
use to, to be of
sl l
kan-sl
slt
kan-wllf
wllft
used to, to become
wllf
English
useful, to be
vaccinate
visit
vomit
Transcription
nf
wake someone
wake up
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
kan-nf
nft
kan-lqq
lqqt
kan-zur
zrt
kan-tqiya
tqiyit
kan-rdd
rddit
tsnna
kan-tsnna
tsnnit
ayn
kan-ayn
aynt
fiyq
kan-fiyq
fiyqt
kan-fiq
fqt
lqq
zar
tqiya
rdd
wait
Arabic
faq
walk
tma
kan-tma
tmit
walk around
tsara
kan-tsara
tsarit
tma
kan-tma
tmit
kan-bi
bit
kan-sxxn
sxxnt
kan-sxn
sxnt
kan-ddr
ddrt
want
ba
warm / heat
sxxn
warm, to be
sxn
warn
ddr
water
sqa
kan-sqi
sqit
sga
kan-sgi
sgit
sl
kan-sl
slt
wash
wash (clothes)
sbbn
kan-sbbn
sbbnt
wash (floor)
siyq
kan-siyq
siyqt
waste
diy
kan-diy
diyt
kan-tfrrj
tfrrjt
kan-iyr
iyrt
watch (TV)
tfrrj
wave
iyr l
wear
lbs
kan-lbs
lbst
weave
nsj
kan-nsj
nsjt
weep
bka
kan-bki
bkit
weigh
br
kan-br
brt
wzn
kan-wzn
wznt
kan-rb
rbt
kan-staqbl
staqblt
kan-sudi
sudit
kan-bra
brit
kan-fzzg
fzzgt
welcome
rb
staqbl
weld
well, to be
wet, to make
suda
bra
fzzg
192 Moroccan Arabic
English
wet, to be
Transcription
fzg
Arabic
First Person
Present Tense
First Person
Past Tense
kan-fzg
fzgt
whistle
sffr
kan-sffr
sffrt
widen
wss
kan-wss
wsst
rb
kan-rb
rbt
kan-jffef
jffeft
ms
kan-ms
mst
ma
kan-mi
mit
sxf
kan-sxf
sxft
kan-tmnna
tmnnit
ybs
kan-ybs
ybst
lwa
kan-lwa
lwit
hd
kan-hd
hdt
tjjb
kan-tjjb
tjjbt
xmmem f
kan-xmmem
xmmemt
kan-xdm
xdmt
win
wipe dry (floor)
wipe off
wiped out, to be
wish
wither
witness
wonder at
jffef
tmnna
work
xdm
worry
ttn
kan-ttn
ttnt
wormy, to get
duwd
kan-duwd
duwdt
worth, to be
swa
kan-swa
swit
wound
jr
kan-jr
jrt
write
ktb
kan-ktb
ktbt
yawn
tfuwh
kan-tfuwh
tfuwht
Grammar Index
Active Participles, 151
Adjectives
Comparative, 81
Masculine and Feminine, 78
Singular and Plural, 78
Superlative, 82
Comparative Adjectives, 81
Comparing Like Objects, 81
Conditional, 111
Conjunctions, 154
Definite Article, 147
Demonstrative Adjectives, 16
Demonstrative Pronouns, 14
Duration, 17
Dyal, 13
Future Tense, 102
Negation, 103
adi, 104
Have you ever..., 54
Ive never..., 54
Imperative, 69
In order to, 68
Independent Pronouns, 7
Infinitive, 46
Intransitive Verbs
Making into Transitive Verbs, 148
With Only One Participle, 153
Kayn, 37
Moon Letters, 147
Negation, 52
Nouns
Masculine and Feminine, 9
Numbers
1 thru 10, 22
100, 200, 300 ... 999, 26
1000, 2000, 3000 ..., 27
11 thru 19, 24
20, 30, 40 ... 99, 25
Fractions, 30
Ordinal, 29
Object Pronouns, 55
Participles, 151
Active, 151
adi, 104
Kayn, 37
Passive, 153
Passive Participles, 153
Passive Verbs, 149
Past Progressive, 150
Past Tense
Irregular Verbs, 48
Regular Verbs, 46
Possession
Dyal, 13
Pronouns, 8
Questions, 17
Possessive Pronouns, 8
Prepositions, 42
With Pronoun Endings, 115
With Verbs, 115
Present Tense
Irregular Verbs with Final a, 64
Irregular Verbs with Middle a, 60
Regular Verbs, 58
Pronouns
Independent, 7
Object, 55
Possessive, 8
Question Words, 56
Sun Letters, 147
Superlative Adjectives, 82
There is, 37
Time, 30
Using One Verb after Another, 68
Verbs
Participles, 151
to have, 40
to need/have to/should, 95
to please, 92
to remain, 151
to want, 36
to want/like, 96
Using One after Another, 68
194 Moroccan Arabic
Vocabulary Index
Adjectives, 78
Bargaining, 72
Body Parts, 97
Bus, 108
Butagas, 135
Butcher, 88
Buying Produce, 86
Caf, 89
Cities, 10
City bus, 108
Clothing, 73
Colors, 75
Communication, 21
Congratulations, 21
Days of the Week, 45
Directions, 43
Doors and Windows, 139
Drinks, 89
Environment Sector, 122
Family, 38
Finding a House, 125
Food, 34, 84, 85, 88, 89
Fruit, 85
Furniture, 127
God Phrases, 157
Greetings, 5
Hanoot Items, 34
Health, 98
Health Sector, 123
Help, 20
Hotel, 110
Household Items, 127
Hygiene, 20
Islamic Calendar, 159
Kitchenware, 127
Marital Status, 10
Mealtime, 19
Meat, 88
Money, 33
Months, 45
Nationalities, 10
Nighttime, 20
Peace Corps, 120
Places in Town, 43
Police Station, 137
Political Harassment, 141
Post Office, 113
Prepositions, 42
Question Words, 56
Restaurant, 90
Seasons, 45
Sexual Harassment, 129
Shopping, 34
Sick, 21, 98
Site Visit, 100
Sleeping, 20
Small Business Development, 124
Spices, 88
Taxi, 107, 131
Thanking, 19
Theft, 137
Time Expressions
Future, 105
Past, 46
Present, 59
Toiletries, 34
Train, 109
Transportation, 21
Travel, 107
Units of Measurement, 86
Vegetables, 84
Verbs, 47, 49, 50, 51, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67
Youth Development, 121
Peace Corps Morocco
2, Rue Abou Marouane Essaadi,

Agdal - Rabat 10080, Morocco
Tl. : 0537 68 37 80 - Fax : 0537 68 37 99
http://morocco.peacecorps.gov
http://www.peacecorps.gov

Moroccan Arabic Textbook

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Moroccan Arabic Textbook

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Peace Corps Morocco

Peace Corps Morocco

Moroccan Arabic textbook

Food and Drink

Transcription of Moroccan Arabic

Sounds You Already Know

sometimes the // in father, sometimes the /a/ in mad

the normal English sound /b/

the normal English sound /d/

the normal English sound /f/

the normal English sound /g/ as in go

the normal English sound /h/ as in hi.

the long ee sound // as in meet

the /zh/ sound represented by the s in pleasure

the normal English sound /k/

the normal English sound /l/

the normal English sound /m/

the normal English sound /n/

the long o sound // as in bone (this transcription character is not used

the normal English sound /p/

the normal English sound /s/

the normal English sound /t/

the long oo sound // as in food

the normal English sound /v/

the normal English sound /w/

the normal English sound /y/

the normal English sound /z/

the normal English sound /sh/ as in she

Some vowel combinations

the ee you as in see you later

Peace Corps / Morocco 3

the Arabic emphatic d

the Arabic emphatic s

the Arabic emphatic t

like the English h, except pronounce deep in the throat as a loud

This sound will be difficult at first. It can be approximated by

These sounds are pronounced like their

time (as in: Ive seen

him one time)

This small character,

Words & Syllables Without Vowels

Why Not Just Write sh?

Peace Corps / Morocco 5

Getting Started with Moroccan Arabic

How do people greet each

Greeting expressions and appropriate responses

A: Good afternoon / evening

Whats your name?

Nice to meet you.

How are you (masc.)?

How are you (fem.)?

Are you fine?

Good, thanks be to God.

Good, thanks be to God.

Peace Corps / Morocco 7

Exercise: Put this dialogue in the correct order.

you (masc. singular)

you (fem. singular)

deep in the throat as a loud raspy

your (sing.) book

your (plur.) book

your (sing.) watch

your (plur.) watch

Peace Corps / Morocco 9